Midsummer Night's Tale
by RightWrong
Summary: This story takes place during Vol 05, Chapter 22, in that amazing midnight summer night scene. Contains spoilers, so if you haven't read season 2 of the Manga, :) "What if during that scene, one powerful thought had occurred to Tsukune, and how would everything else develop from there?" A bit of a butterfly effect, if you will. EDIT: New Chapter Soon! Sorry for the Delay.
1. Chapter 1: By the Pale Moonlight

A/N: Hi everyone, this will be the first story I ever publish. I started thinking little fantasies about R+V for myself, and then I finally wrote them down so I could enjoy them better: give them more structure, remember details, etc. I never intended to publish anything, but another writer whose writing I enjoy, Catyz101, told me to go ahead and do it. So if this sucks too badly, blame her! =) If you enjoy this, well, praise her too =)

But let's be clear about it, I'm no writer, so be gentle with your critic. After all I wrote this only for myself. However I don't mind to have corrections pointed out in a PM, I think I fixed most grammar and misc word errors, but I likely missed some. I also kept switching tenses, but I think I got most of those errors too. In the end I publish this because it's possible someone else will enjoy it too, like I've enjoyed other people's writings in here :)

I clearly own everything related to R+V so start mailing me money _**now**_. OK, maybe not. Everything is owned by other parties, this is written for fun and not for profit in any way. Please don't waste your time suing, unless you want a brand new shiny nickel.

Lastly, I'm really not sure how long to make chapters. This one seems a little short, but adding the rest of the stuff I had written seems a little too long, like it might belong in a separate chapter. So, in essence, yet another preemptive apology, sorry!

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At last, peace and quiet. Tsukune is glad the conflict was finally over and they had spent a few days goofing off after saving Sun and Marin. The stress of his training and his being unable to meet inner Moka's expectations had nearly gotten to him to the point where he would quit, so he was grateful for the downtime. But now everything felt different, better. Still, not being able to sleep, he puts his clothes back on and goes for a stroll to sooth his mind. To his surprise, Moka is there as well.

"Ahh, you couldn't sleep either Moka-san? Is something wrong?", he gently asks her.

"Tsukune.. I.. am glad we came here. First I was kidnapped by the Yakuza, then the issues with Marin-san's Inn about to close and such, it's taught me a lot about how hard it is for an ayashi to live in the human world..." - As she explains, he's about to start feeling crestfallen at the realization, but he stops when he sees her warm expression, the light blush on her face as her voice gains that same warmth, "...seeing Sun-sempai and Marin-san in such joy, that's blown everything else away."

Moka carries on about the warm feelings in her heart, and Tsukune is content to just listen to her voice. He loves the sound of her voice. He loves the way she smiles. The way she acts. Everything about her, he mused. Turning back to gaze at her, he couldn't help but think about how beautiful she is, how the silvery moon-light highlights her long pink hair, how her large emerald eyes shine happily. Her graceful silhouette against the moonlight, she literally took his breath away. Yet above all else, he never wanted to see her stop smiling.

As he watches her, a soft blush slowly develops on his own features, and not just because he occasionally forgets to breathe. She remembered his words during the last fight, about ayashi and human hearts understanding each other, and they apparently had touched her own heart. As she merrily carried on about having made the right decision to try to stay together as ayashi and human, his mind drifted to pleasant thoughts surrounding her. Suddenly, she paused and turned to look at him, blushing, before she hesitantly started to ask, "say... Tsukune..."

He gulped. Was she thinking the same thing he was? Was she about to tell him she liked him? He could feel his heart start to beat faster and time slow down to a crawl for those precious moments. Suddenly she asks bashfully if she can suck his blood, and he nearly falls down in a disappointed shock. "ehehe, it's just I'm feeling all excited..", she offers as an embarrassed explanation. He can never deny her when she makes those puppy eyes at him, so he instead shakes his head in amusement before relenting. Moka was adorable, and there was a part of him that liked it when she was close to him drinking his blood.

Still, when he pulls her closer to allow her to drink, he wonders out loud what will happen when they become adults too, like Sun and Marin. Moka pauses and with her blush deepening, she replies, "We should smile when that time comes. We will be in wonderful happiness just like Sun-sempai." She gently caresses his face. His heart starts to beat faster, and he suddenly has trouble breathing. Her touch is soothing and maddening at the same time. His own blush deepens as he manages to exhale "Moka-san" as a reply, the one word containing the myriad of emotions, hopes and dreams of his young existence. He doesn't want that touch to end. He really wishes he could say all that is in his heart, but it seems that Moka understands and the one word was enough.

She leans closer, slowly, so so slowly, until, turning her face slightly their noses are side by side, and he can almost taste her breath as she exhales her reply, "Tsukune..", with her lips but an inch apart from his. Those simple words also carrying deep emotions, her own hopes and dreams for a happy future. The moment seems to last forever, as he looks at her lips, and as his own feelings surge wildly, he can't help but wonder at how differently things were now when compared to the start of the summer vacation. First he experiences crushing despair when the woman he loves gets kidnapped, and now he – he pauses in mid-thought.

He senses her own surprise, her shock even, and it's only a second or two after that he realizes why, realizes what he has done. His lips are touching hers, ever so gently. His chest feels warm, as if it were about to burst when he finally realizes what he has known for a long time but never before fully admitted to himself. She doesn't push him away, instead continues the light kiss trying to make sense of her own emotions that start to surge forth. He closes his eyes and relishes on this feeling, as a timid kiss evolves into a constant caress of the lips.

She doesn't push him away! The new realization hits him like a brick, and almost makes him stagger. Regaining a measure of composure, he very reluctantly finishes the kiss and gently guides the stunned vampire's face towards his neck before wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace. She wordlessly bites him almost on instinct, but softly, he could have sworn it felt like a kiss and not the usual bite. Then again, he muses, he wasn't thinking or feeling all that much, all he could do was recall those incredible moments.. her touch.. her lips.. the way she felt.. the way they kissed. He leans his head into her neck as she feeds, and pulls her closer. He's not even sure how or when, or why, or really what he was thinking, but he whispers to her ear what his heart has been screaming to him since she touched his face. No, since a long, long time before that he realized belatedly. "I love you."

Moka was stunned. She didn't know what to say. The taste of his lips was incredible. The fact he had kissed her was even more incredible. She had just been thinking about growing up to be together and that was overwhelming enough, but this, it took her own breath away. She wasn't completely aware of what she was doing when she returned the kiss. It all happened so fast, and yet, it seemed to also last forever. Her thoughts simply stopped during the kiss, she thought. Even now her thoughts were slowed by the maelstrom of emotions overwhelming her, even as she went back and recalled the kiss in detail: the taste, his soft lips, his hot breath, the shiver that ran through her as if she were freezing, the warmth that immediately followed and engulfed her before settling in her chest. She was content to let him guide her face to his neck, and barely noticed when she bit him. But his taste was unreal, much better than anything she had tasted before.

She was so enraptured in his taste and in her own memories and emotions, she nearly missed it when he said it. Nearly. Her heart stopped. She suddenly realized what all those emotions raging against her mind were. She loved him too. The warmth in her chest intensified, and a deep ache within her began to be sated. She wondered why she never noticed it before, since now with hindsight, it was always there. It was like failing to notice a gaping maw next to you, all your life. But she was aware now, completely awake from her stupor. How clearly she could recall how his kiss tasted, how it felt, her soft touch against his face, how he tasted just now. Unfortunately, she suddenly was aware of a lot more; things she had been too enthralled to listen to earlier, and a shiver ran down her spine..

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A/N: I'll upload chapter 2 fairly soon, it's mostly written already, since it was sort of part of this chapter but it grew a little too large, I think. Just needs some cleanup.


	2. Chapter 2: Inner Thoughts

A/N: Well, here it is. I edited and re-edited this and I think I managed to find most of the glaring errors, but feel free to PM me any you find.

I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to leave a comment if you have the time. Disclaimer in the first A/N still applies :)

Edit: Yet more errors removed. Had uploaded a slightly older version. I'll eat my shirt if I found them all though, pesky, scurry little...

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Inner Moka was furious, and screaming bloody murder. She had been peacefully slumbering, enjoying the overall warm feelings of outer Moka, like a blanket guarding over her content sleep, when that.. that.. k..kiss — she could barely spit it out in her angry thoughts — had woken her up in a hurry. She had woken up in a groggy state, dumbfounded by the wave of powerful emotions that assaulted her being, followed by several sensations she was unfamiliar with. She had felt confused as she tried to get her bearings on what was going on. The dream-like images that explained what she felt had followed much later. Well, it had felt like much later. It likely happened less than a second afterwards, but to the confused vampire it had been entirely too long. She began yelling to outer Moka, but she wouldn't listen. It was as if she couldn't hear her. This only helped to enrage an already pissed off, proud vampire.

She started to shake the Rosario to get someone to notice, but to no avail. They were now hugging, oblivious to the world, and her outer self was happily drinking his blood, not caring or noticing anything else. Time passed slowly for the trapped vampire, who at least was happy they had stopped.. doing that. She pointedly refused to acknowledge it again. Less furious is perhaps more accurate than happy, but as she tried to calm down to come up with a plan to get noticed, she missed something being whispered, but she did feel a sudden shift in outer Moka's emotions. She screamed at her again, and this time she sensed her looking inwardly, with a guilty and scared expression on her face:

"About damn time you listen to me!", growled inner Moka.

"I'm so sorry! I couldn't hear you! Sorry sorry sorry!", came the scared reply.

"What the hell is wrong with both of you? Who the hell does that boy think he is? How dare he! I'm going to kill him!", spat inner Moka out.

"P..please calm down OK? Please? I'm sorry I didn't hear you sooner... I was too..." - her outer self drifted off in mid sentence.

**(::)(::)(::)**

Afterwards, Outer Moka spent a good deal of time trying to pacify her inner self, with only moderate success, all the while holding on to Tsukune who was thankfully oblivious to the discussion taking place inside her Rosario. Inner Moka demanded she be left out, and Outer Moka was trying to figure out what to do. If she didn't let her out, she would just get raving mad and then for sure would kill Tsukune when she did manage to get out, but if she got out now, she might kill him anyway. Still, she finally relented, but in a desperate voice made her plea, "Fine, but please, listen to him first OK?" Inner Moka nodded silently. Before turning away from her inner debate, outer Moka added quietly, "..I love him..", hoping that it would be enough to protect him, but she got no reply.

"Tsukune..." she says quietly. Her body tenses up, indeed her entire demeanour changes, so he immediately looks up. Did she regain her senses? Is she angry he kissed her? Was she only caught in the moment earlier? One after another, possibilities flood his mind, one worse than the other as he feels fear begin to overtake him. - "..Ura", she begins, her nickname for her inner self, and enough for him to stop his rampaging thoughts. The reality seems worse than his own fears, and the end of her sentence confirms it: "..wants to talk to you. **Now**." She speaks quietly, with a desolate undertone, as if resigned to a grim fate. _His_ grim fate he begins to realize in growing horror. He clearly had forgotten one very big silver-haired problem..

He knows that delaying will make things worse, so he nods to her shakily, and she carefully takes his hand in hers. She gives it a warm squeeze of encouragement, before leading it to her Rosario and pulling it off with a sigh. The area is instantly flooded with Youki, though inner Moka tries to suppress it at the same time as she tries to suppress her anger, in an effort to acquiesce her outer self's request to listen first, but only barely manages either task. Her glare is murderous and the killing intent is clear in the air. "Good thing she taught me to sense that", he thinks with a sudden burst of gallows humour.

"How dare you touch me so familiar-like", she hisses out, "How dare _**you**_.. _kiss_.. _**me**_!", she spits out the last words one at a time. He looks terrified at first, and afterwards, hurt. This surprises her, and what surprises her even more is that the look of hurt in his eyes takes the edge off her anger, which she had been nurturing quite successfully until now. "Who the hell do you think you are, do you think I would become one of your little 'harem' girls, swooning over you? That maybe I would rub myself against you like Kurumu, to try to beg for your affections?" she hisses out, again in growing anger. She was pleased with herself for finding a way to get her anger to start boiling again with that mental image. "I would rather kill you than allow the outer me to demean both of us like that, even if she'd hate me for it!" she finally says after another angry pause.

He can tell she is serious. The last sentence, although angrier than before, had been delivered with a near calm. The calm of a raging storm just under the surface. He takes a deep breath. All he can do is tell her the truth and apologize for hurting her feelings, he realizes. "I.. don't want that. At all. I love Moka-san. I don't want any 'harem', I never did..", is his reply before turning to look at her directly. She looks a bit surprised. He would take mild surprise over murderous anger any day! He is about to continue when she interrupts with a sarcastic undertone, "So you finally made your choice, is that it?" He nods, and she continues her interrogation, "Why now? Did you just suddenly develop this love?" He blushes before replying, "I couldn't keep ignoring my heart. It kept screaming at me. I just didn't know how to listen to it before. But I've loved Moka-san for a long time, I realize this now."

**(::)(::)(::)**

This is not going as well as inner Moka wants it to go. She is still upset of course, but she isn't raging mad. Her outer self constantly butting in finding ways to assuage her and put whatever_ 'the boy'_ says in a better light was not making it easier to kick him. She sighs inwardly, this could be a loosing battle, and she needs to find a resolution quickly. She never could stand it when her outer self was so miserable. 'But I can't allow...' the thought is interrupted as an idea begins to take shape in her mind. Inner Moka smiles ever so slightly, unconsciously showing her fangs. She takes a deep breath for effect before replying, "You're an idiot, you know?" It is with some satisfaction that she sees the shock in his face. With a smirk, she continues, "Even if I allowed this, even if I allowed you to kiss her, that is as far as I would ever go, and then only for her sake. This is my body too after all."

Her voice softens to an enticing purr, "You could instead choose one of the other girls. Surely as a teenage boy you realize that with the succubus, you would have a very passionate, intimate relationship. She would make a good, fun girlfriend you know. Or you could choose the Yuki-Onna, you would have a nice happy family, a quiet life somewhere. Probably not very different from your own parents. They would even follow you to the human world if you so chose." Her purr now gained a mocking undertone, "..and instead you choose to try to stand by my side; do you not realize your life will always be in danger? Vampires have many enemies. Between the people who would challenge your position, to the people who would challenge me, a peaceful, or even a long life is.. unlikely. You are not strong enough." She finishes triumphantly. "And you would give up all of that, and risk this much, only so you could kiss 'her'?"

Outer Moka was devastated, her inner counterpart had made a very good argument in her mind. He would have to be an idiot to choose her. Leave it to her inner self to be so level headed and do what must be done, while all she could do was be selfish, she thought. Tsukune would likely have a better life, quite likely a longer life too she added morosely, if he chose one of the other girls. She could go back to being lonely, she tried to convince herself. He would be her friend still, if inner Moka allowed it, so she wouldn't be completely alone, but the thoughts did little to sooth the growing ache in her chest. Still, there was no way he would choose her, 'Ura' had made sure of it, and she wouldn't blame him.

Instead she would try to be happy for him. She didn't realize one could cry inside a Rosario, nor did she realize when the tears started to flow. 'It is for the best after all' she tries to comfort herself. 'I have to be strong like Ura, and think of him. How many times has he been hurt protecting me?' She has been trying to prepare herself for what must come, but she is snapped out of her inner reverie by the sound of her heart breaking when she hears his reply, "I guess I hadn't thought about it that way. I guess you're right." Of course, she had expected this, it was only natural that he.. but she can't finish the thought, and sobs instead.

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A/N: I hope you like it so far, coming up soon, ch3: 'Aftermath of a Dream', hope you'll like it!


	3. Chapter 3: Aftermath of a Dream

A/N: Thank you so much for the kind reviews! Really, thanks!

Also thank you for the tip in a PM about having each person's dialogue be in a separate paragraph. Like I said, I'm not a writer so I didn't know to do that, I just _'used the force' _to determine where and how to make paragraphs until now. There are still many things I don't actually _know_ how to do, so I'm kind of winging it.

Again, if you have the time, your comments are appreciated. Disclaimer in ch.1's AN still applies :)

.

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Inner Moka looked triumphant, but now that she had won, she didn't feel the victory. If she had been honest with herself, she would have realized she felt sad, perhaps disappointed too. Instead she had assumed her wayward feelings were caused by her outer self being so miserable. She would need to try to find a way to make it up to her. She knew Tsukune wouldn't be cruel to her outer self, and would still remain her friend, so that would help.

As she starts making further plans on how to make it up to her, Tsukune, having rubbed the back of his head nervously, adds with a nervous chuckle, "I guess I am an idiot.."

_'Wait, what? What had 'that boy' just said?'_

But before she can actually form the question, he continues, "..but I love Moka-san."

Both inner and outer Moka are stunned. Inner Moka barely manages to stop herself from repeating what her counterpart said inside the Rosario: "..no way.."

Tsukune smiles warmly at her. Yet she is still not fully processing what he had said. She doesn't realize what that warm feeling inside of her is, how it is effortlessly vanquishing the sadness. She does feel herself blush and becomes desperate to regain control_. 'Damn that natural ladies man, how could he say such things so easily?'_ She raises an eyebrow and asks in a neutral voice, "..huh. You love her that much?" It is something, not exactly her greatest line, but she needs to say something, instead of just staring at him. Unconsciously trying to shift her shock into intellectual bewilderment is the best she came up with in such short notice.

Nonetheless, she's annoyed at her shock. She realizes she needs to form an actual plan, and regain the initiative. But she is also considering her outer self's emotions now that her previous plan had backfired. How could she make this work, anyway? Some sort of exchange rate, to keep her pride? Maybe one kick for a kiss, she pondered? That thought amuses her, and further helps her regain her composure.

Just as she turns to face him again with renewed purpose, he nervously corrects her, "..I realize I'm probably going to get very kicked for this.." — he takes a deep breath again — "..but no, I love Moka-san, all of Moka-san, inner Moka is very special to me too."

It is a lie. At least that's what her rational mind screams. 'Let's look at the facts. For starters, is he really human? Maybe his grandparents were an incubus and or a succubus? How else can he make me feel.. — wait — no. No!' She harshly kicks that thought away and focuses on the lie instead. Maybe he is more cunning than he lets on! Had she not told him sarcastically not that long ago that he would need to seduce her too if he wanted to be with her outer self? She scrutinizes him as she quietly states, "Don't lie to me Tsukune, I would never forgive you if you did. I can forgive the kiss, but if you lie to me now.." She doesn't finish her sentence.

She doesn't have to, he knows what she means, and he can read the obvious on her face: she doesn't believe him. This was getting to be dangerous again. Then again, she had stated as much earlier, had she not? Even going to the mall or training with her was very dangerous. Why should this be any different? The fine print of trying to date a super powerful, proud vampire, he contemplates with detached bemusement.

His amusement and detachment increases as he ponders ways to prove he is being truthful, each 'solution' getting him more killed than the last. Start spouting off poetry? Good plan, if he were a poet. Next. Rush in and kiss her? Hahaha – No. Sweep her of her feet, press her against the wall and tell her how much he desired her? Funny! N-O. While he is busy rejecting nonsensical ideas, a thought is forming in the back of his mind. Realizing he is running out of time, he begins: "I.. have never lied to you Moka-san. I.. sometimes.. have not told you how I felt, because I didn't want to worry you, or because I simply couldn't, but.. I wouldn't lie to you.." he begins. She looks uncertain, but nods before he proceeds to hurriedly say, "..the thing is, please don't kill me OK?" At this she growls impatiently, so he just carries on after some hesitation, blurting out, "..I dreamt of you."

She looks shocked. He looks terrified. He keeps berating himself about how he had delivered that bit of news. Couldn't he had done a much better job of explaining it? 'Stupid stupid stupid', he keeps chastising himself. He finally gets an idea and that's what he says?

He becomes desperate to try to elaborate but she recovers faster, "You.. dreamt.. of.. me.." she states, emphasizing each word. "What, exactly, about?" she asks with a dangerous undertone, as her Youki begins to gather around her.

He panics and blurts out, "I.. dreamt we were sleeping together." Yet as soon as he says it, his mind screams at him, _'oh my god no, you just signed your death warrant.' _He succumbs to the panic.

Shocked doesn't do justice to inner Moka's face. _'What did he say again?'_ She isn't yet angry, that would be coming in a second, but for now she is trying to come to grips with Tsukune having had _fantasies_ about her. Her outer self is quiet too, she too is shocked into speechlessness. And then the emotions pour in as she feels her face flush. She is embarrassed, surprised, glad, shocked, speechless, intrigued, humiliated, outraged, 'Aha!' There is an emotion she likes, one she is comfortable with, and she latches on to it for dear life. She begins to feel her anger flourish, that comfortable feeling of anger that fuels her power and pushes away doubts and uncomfortable truths.

Thankfully Tsukune manages to recover from his panic a little bit faster this time, at least enough to throw caution to the wind since he was dead anyway, and hurriedly adds, "It wasn't how it sounded! We were inside a bed, and we were cuddling, and you looked at me so warmly and with such affection, that I felt happier than I had ever been. It was an amazing, wonderful dream.." - he nearly gets sidetracked rambling about the amazing dream at the start of his training, but manages to catch himself and hastily continues, "but I didn't have any right to be dreaming about you! I even punched myself, hard! I'm so sorry! I'm only mentioning it so you know that I truly do love you. Please don't kill me!" he cries out at the end.

Anger gives way to more shock. But there is something else. She feels touched. He had dreamt of her cuddling with him, and had loved it. Yet his naive self doesn't allow himself even that harmless fantasy, knowing she would disapprove. She had sensed nor seen a lie in his eyes, he had said everything with conviction and earnest, and well, obvious fear, but she believes him now. As the shock lifts, she realizes she is also deeply embarrassed. Her earlier anger forgotten, she's now desperate to regain control of the situation. She is going to turn things on him, on that damn incubus or whatever he is, she thinks with annoyance.

Following her plan, she begins to walk up to him slowly, and smiles when she sees him squirm, looking around nervously. He was contemplating escape routes, she guesses correctly with a grin. For his part, Tsukune knew better than to try, and even resisted the urge to take a step back, which surprised Ura a bit. When she reaches him, she leans forward and asks in her dangerously sultry voice, "So you dream of me, huh? You then take liberties.. you kiss these lips of mine.. what do you think I should do about that, hmm?" He can smell her breath. He shivers and flushes a deep red. Seeing him squirm, seeing him a little afraid, she likes that she realizes. "Well..?" she coos again, running a fingernail across his cheek, from top to bottom, while his body shivers again. As her finger trails down towards his neck, inspiration comes to him.

Tsukune wordlessly removes his shirt, which surprises inner Moka. His chest has become much more defined, more manly, and she likes what she sees. Yet she also can't help but look at all the scars on his chest, each a painful memory of the times she hadn't been able to protect him. Leaning his head to the side, he slides a hand behind Moka, gently guiding her head towards his exposed neck. She lets herself be led there, wondering what he was up to, and rests her face against his shoulder. He whispers gently, warmly, into her ear, "..drink." After a small pause he adds, "..all my blood is yours, always." She is a bit taken aback, but his smell is intoxicating. She realizes she has never actually drank his blood in this form. 'All my blood is yours..' he had said. That seemed like an equitable trade she thought, before biting his offered neck with a growing smile.

His hand holding her head begins to caress, gently weaving through the silky strands of silver hair, while wrapping his other arm around her waist. She enjoys the touch and the attention, and finds her own hand lazily exploring his chest, following the contour of the various scars with the tips of her fingers, sometimes eliciting a shiver, sometimes a groan of pleasure. She enjoys teasing him, and so she takes to only sip his blood, and then stops, giving his neck a gentle bite, or trailing her fangs along it's length, licking at any drops of blood that try to get away, while delighting in his response. She even starts playing a game with herself, trying to see if she can predict if he would next shiver, moan, or hold his breath at her next touch.

She finally, reluctantly, pulls away, lest she drink too much, even a sip at a time. She rests her hand on his bare chest, using it as leverage when pushing back. She is quite pleased with herself, for she feels she has regained a measure of control, and eagerly wants to see his face, observe his reaction. Admittedly she had expected him to be flustered, shocked, or scared, or all of them, but instead she sees him look at her adoringly, with a warm smile and a genuinely happy expression. He looks handsome smiling like that under the moonlight, she thinks for a second before squashing the thought like a bug. While she is distracted with the wayward thought, he leans towards her ear and whispers, "I love you." Inner Moka is amazed how powerfully those simple words resonate within her. So powerfully that she doesn't react to his face brushing against hers as he pulls away slightly, nor at the pausing for a moment in front of her, before kissing her tenderly.

Tsukune was in heaven. He was convinced this was either the best dream ever, or he had simply died and been favoured by a generous god. Feeling inner Moka's playful caresses on him had made him hot and cold, terrified and excited, and everything in between, and often at the same time, but above all else, happy. Deeply, truly, happy. He did the only thing he could think of, to show her how much it meant to him. He even remembered her words, about her 'only' allowing him to kiss her, that it was as far as she would go, and found that they didn't bother him in the least. Quite the opposite in fact. He realized he could die happy if he was allowed to feel her touch, allowed to kiss her. And so he did.

Moka's eyes shoot wide open, even as her mouth moves of it's own accord. Regaining some lucidity, she still returns the kiss, perhaps a bit more hungrily than the kiss he had shared with outer Moka.

_'Wait, I was supposed to be toying with him, why does my mind keep blanking out on me?!'_ she asks herself in annoyance.

'Omote', as she calls her outer self, chirpily offers a reply laced with amusement, "Because you like him too!" Outer Moka enjoyed the rare chance to tease 'Ura-chan', her nickname for her inner self, but she knew better than to push too far right now. The proud vampire needed time to reach her own conclusions. _'Besides, there will be other times to tease her'_, she grinned to herself as Ura growled in annoyance during the kiss. She finally breaks the kiss to turn away from him and hide her deepening blush.

As elated as he had been during the kiss, as much as his body had shivered at her deep guttural growl during, Tsukune can't help but feel sad when it is over. He craves her, he needs her so badly. He walks close to her from behind, and tentatively wraps his arms around her, to feel her warmth. In truth, she had missed his warmth just as much, and feels relieved when he leans against her back, so she does nothing to stop him, in spite her first instinct being to pull away.

Instead she asks neutrally, "When are you planning on telling them?" – silence. "You _were_ planning on telling them, right?" she growls in annoyance.

He hastily replies, "Ah, well, err, see, of course, I just had not fully planned it out, yet." He adds with a nervous laugh, "err.. when do you think I should? Now? Wait for the morning?"

"He was likely more concerned with remaining alive, you know. Besides, why the hurry in breaking our friends hearts after they went through so much recently?" Omote teases playfully, but she ignores it.

Instead she sighs before replying, "No.. these days have been too emotional, and people are in good spirits. I suppose we can wait a week before we tell them." This surprises Tsukune, he had expected her to demand he raise the entire household right now and declare himself off-limits. Instead she just adds, "We should get some sleep..." before leaning back into his embrace. He nods, agreeing, but nobody makes a move anywhere.

She needs time to think about everything that just happened, and about how she feels. His embrace is just the right balance for her, it is comforting, and only somewhat embarrassing, so she's content with the compromise as her thoughts wander. For his part, Tsukune is happy to hold her and feel her warmth against his chest.

Eventually she decides she'll need to sleep on it, and after wishing him a good night, she puts her Rosary back on. She doesn't kiss him goodnight, but grants him a small smile, and that's enough to make him happy. He puts his shirt back on and goes sit down with Moka in his arms while she recovers from the switch, and rests her on his lap. She's sleeping peacefully, with her own warm smile gracing her lips, and Tsukune leans back, enjoying his own private midnight paradise.

Outer Moka eventually wakes up, but realizing she's on his lap, she just stays there contently. She nuzzles up to him, but doesn't say a word, and instead enjoys the gentle breeze that mixes with his sweet scent, the soothing, rhythmic beating of his heart mixing with crashing waves in the distance, the breathtaking landscape with his attractive looks, but above all, she enjoys the feeling of belonging.

Before they know it, early dawn begins to crawl over horizon, and only when the rays of the nascent sun won't be denied anymore, do they reluctantly part. She turns to gaze at him one more time and impulsively pushes forward and gives him a peck on the lips before chirping, "I'll see you later, OK?" He just nods with his own happy smile permanently etched on his face.

**(::)(::)(::)**

That same morning the bus came to pick them up to return them to Youkai Academy. For a moment Tsukune thought they would make it back to the Academy without incident, but that was before Marin asked him cheerfully about his being a human in an academy full of monsters, and all for the sake of love! She likely thought it was very romantic. He thought his death would be quite unromantic if all the other girls assaulted him at the same time, so he tried to feign ignorance. Unfortunately for him, she had seen him and Moka that night being very 'friendly' and she said as much. "You looked so cute!" she even said to him quietly.

"No, wait, that was..." he can't come up with anything, not that he was given a chance to explain. The murderous glares of everyone except Moka cut him short. Claws extended, Kurumu demands the identity of whomever Marin was referring to, as well as asking about what _exactly_ he had been doing. Mizore cut to the chase by asking him threateningly if he had _been_ with another woman. There's only one solution to this conundrum, so he lamely says, "No, no, that was just so she could suck my blood.."

"So it was Moka!", they yell in unison and turn to face a blushing, pink-haired vampire. She sticks her tongue at them playfully, to disguise the reason for her blush.

After additional farewells, and a touching scene which culminated with Marin and Sun holding up a sign inviting them to come again, they all feel better about the future of ayashi and humans living together, and ride back to the academy. Moka is happiest, but even so dark clouds begin to form in her mind tempering her joy. After gazing at her friends fighting for a spot next to Tsukune, she can't help but wonder if her friends will still be her friends at the end of the week. Glancing down at her Rosario, she is quite certain: she has never been this happy, but this love of hers was going to bring many complications..

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A/N: And here we are! I felt bad leaving poor pink-Moka sobbing in the last chapter, but since I then went to comfort her while I finished this chapter, I felt only _mostly_ bad :)

Hope you all enjoyed it so far, and look forward to me expanding this story.

Truth be told this could work as a small short story as is, but I want to explore how their relationship keeps changing things around them, and themselves. Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4: Succubae and other Pests

A/N: I hope you enjoy it, this one took far more work editing and changing the dialogue until I was happy with it. It's also quite a bit longer, but I couldn't find a breaking point I was happy with.

As usual, if you have time, leaving a comment behind is appreciated.

Edit: I made some small corrections, a few random words that had been misplaced, one or two sentences that could have been improved, were. If anyone else spots anything, feel free to PM me.

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In the afternoon the bus arrives at Youkai Academy without incident, all the while a nervous Tsukune is doing what he can to avoid being fought over by the girls. Moka keeps her distance which saddens him, but he knows it's for the best; after all her coming close is the number one reason for the other girls to act out. Ugh, telling them was going to be painful, he really did not want to hurt his friends in any way, much less hurt them this much. But try as he might, he can't come up with a solution.

Once at the academy, everyone says their goodbyes and heads to their dorms to unpack and rest from the trip, but Tsukune just dumps his stuff inside his room and goes off to try to find Moka – who had the same idea. They run into each other and stop while just staring at each other.

"Moka-san...", he starts with a smile.

"Tsukune...", she returns the smile.

"_Moka..-san_"_, _he says more dreamily, as he approaches her.

"Tsu-ku-ne", she replies playfully, also closing the distance.

He embraces her, and she leans her head against his shoulder. "Don't tell me you're hungry again?" he asks in a light teasing tone.

She blushes, but instead of answering she asks, "and why are _you_ here?"

"I was feeling hungry!" he replies lightheartedly. She pauses, looks at him, and then both start chuckling. "I'm being honest!" he adds with amusement.

He takes her face in his hands, and gently caresses her with his thumbs. "I really was starving.." he says in a soft voice, as he leans forward and touches her lips in a tender kiss, before leaning his head on her shoulders and pulling her close. "..for Moka-san's touch."

Truth be told, Moka was actually feeling a little hungry, or perhaps it was that she was excited at the prospect to go find him. She always had that issue, whenever she felt too excited she also craved his blood. But more than anything she wanted to be held in his arms; she got goosebumps during the entire ride back each time she remembered waking up in them.

She leans her own head on his shoulders, presses her lips against his neck, but doesn't drink, just rests her face against him.

Caressing the back of her head and playing with her hair, he tells her, "Go ahead and take a little sip, I know you want to." She sighs, she had been found out, but smiles warmly at how considerate he is. She really only takes a sip and kisses the spot afterwards, eliciting a shiver and tightening of his hug.

"We have to be careful," she says with a sad tone, since she still wants to explore his reactions to her touch. He nods in silent agreement.

"What we need, is to go away on vacation", he suddenly says. It does sound like a good idea, just the two of them together, but when she realizes the double meaning at having just returned from one, she bursts out laughing, with Tsukune joining in.

"You seem a bit more confident, and definitely more playful." she teases him. "Did something happen you want to talk about?"

"Just the usual, fight for our lives, kissing pretty vampires, not getting horribly killed by inner Moka-san.." he replies with a slow grin.

"Oh my god, I still can't believe you said that to her. And lived! I couldn't even say anything there to help you, I was too shocked myself!"

"Believe me, I was shocked too. I could totally see my tombstone reading 'Here lies a fool who had a dream he shouldn't have' or something. Funny what panic will make you do.", he smiles.

They share a few more chuckles, but she wants to ask him if he also had any dreams of her, yet the faint noise of a branch cracking in the distance startles her. Realizing they may be pushing their luck, and that they really do need to be discreet for now, she tells him they should probably get back. She whispers in his ear, "I think I heard something.", before she lets go of him.

Understanding, he also pulls back and closes his eyes, trying to sense a presence. Inner Moka's training pays off, for he can sense someone in the distance. Not very close, and very faint, but it's somewhere. He nods to her, "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow OK? Sleep tight!" he waves.

She makes it a point to reply a bit loudly, "Thanks for the meal Tsukune, goodnight!" before heading off to her dorm.

A pair of blue eyes watch her head to her dorm in silence.

XXX

The next morning Moka wakes up feeling particularly cheerful. She can't stop thinking about Tsukune, and their latest kiss, and the warm embrace. Even though the kiss had been so brief, the embrace had been wonderful, and it filled her with joy. She was practically prancing in her own dorm while she was getting ready.

"_Someone's happy this morning._", says Ura, waking up herself surrounded by the warm feelings of outer Moka. She's glad to see Omote happy, but inner Moka is still somewhat troubled about the other day.

"I am! He kissed me again last night!", chirps Omote.

Inner Moka sighs, _"I really need to have a talk with 'that boy' again, I never agreed to let him go around kissing __my lips__ anytime it pleases him. I originally accepted his proposal for that one kiss he __had already taken, never mind the second one, or this one for that matter!"_

"That's not what it sounded to me! You agreed to all his blood in exchange for letting him kiss you!"

"_That one time. I didn't agree to be kissed whenever the wind blew."_, comes the pointed reply from her inner self.

"Did too! Besides, you liked it when he kissed you!"

"_I was just surprised. Besides, it was probably more your feelings and hormones flooding my body."_, a flustered inner Moka tries to reason.

"Nu-uh! I was there, you like Tsukune too! Admit it!"

"_I will do no such thing!"_ replies Ura indignantly.

"Ura-chan likes Tsukune, Ura-chan likes Tsukune", answers outer Moka in a childlike sing-song. _'Maybe I can tease Ura-chan into accepting her emotions. Besides, this is fun!',_ she reasons with herself.

Ura-Moka growls in annoyance, _"I'm warning you, don't think you're that far out of reach. And I will have that talk with Tsukune!"_

"You're just jealous because he kissed me twice!"

"_Hah, __I don't think so__. Besides, it was me he dreamt of, remember?"_, refutes inner Moka, trying to end the argument and repay her other self for her teasing.

That stops outer Moka in her tracks. Not being able to come up with a counter, she does the only thing she can think of. She resumes her mocking childish sing-song.

"_The hell? I said I don't like him!"_ - but Ura's angry reply is completely ignored.

"Ura likes Tsukune, Ura likes Tsukune!", more singing.

"_OK, that is IT!"_, growls inner Moka in anger. _"Since __as you remember __he gave __**me**__ the right to __**all**__ his blood, YOU are cut off! No more drinking from Tsukune!"_

At this outer Moka's eyes grow wide in sudden fear and she falls silent, before she begins to apologize, "I'm sorry! I promise to never do it again!" - No answer.

"I'm very sorry! Look I'll do anything!" - still no answer.

"Please please please!" - yet more desperate begging.

She finally gets acknowledged as inner Moka replies, "_You promise to never __sing__ that damn annoying song?"_

"Yes, honest. But you also have to promise to not cut me off his blood, that's just mean. I was only playing..", she sniffs, acting all dejected.

"Fine. But stop annoying me and get ready.", replies inner Moka, and watches with some satisfaction as her outer self falls silent and hurries up.

XXX

Still feeling overall cheerful, outer Moka goes off to meet Tsukune. The moment she sees him, she gets a blush as she greets him, "Good morning Tsukune."

"G..Good morning Moka-san!" He's also blushing.

She begins to play with her hair nervously._'If only the others might not run into us at any moment.."_ she thinks with longing. Still, she notices that suddenly Tsukune is trying to avoid looking at her directly, so she asks him what's wrong.

"Ah, it's nothing, I was just remembering our time together during our last night at the Inn..." he replies, before adding quietly, "..and I dreamt about it."

"Eh? You dreamt about me?" She asks with obvious surprise, sounding very pleased.

"Well, yes.. after all, it was the best day of my life." He finally says with obvious embarrassment.

She beams at him. He smiles at her, happy she's happy. They begin to walk to school together, and he only barely resists the urge to hold her hand.

_'Speaking of that day, don't forget to remind him that I wish to speak to him later on, __so__ ask him to __arrive at training a few minutes earlier.',_ inner Moka cuts in.

"Ah, Tsukune..", begins outer Moka chirpily, "Ura-chan wants me to tell you she misses you and really wants to see you during training later today, so she wants you to arrive a bit early so you can talk."

Ura growls in indignant annoyance, _'That is not what I said!' _

"It is what you meant though!", outer Moka whispers back. She then hums the tune to her earlier "Ura likes Tsukune" 'master piece', but without the 'lyrics', to keep her promise.

As inner Moka begins to fume, Omote whispers to her, "Aw, come on, look at how happy he looked when I told him you missed him!"

Looking at Tsukune's radiant face does take the edge of her annoyance, and Ura decides to stay silent.

Tsukune is thrilled that inner Moka misses him, although he does wonder at outer Moka's current humming. Still, he likes it when she's this happy, so he doesn't question it further. His thoughts drift between memories of the two of them, but they are rudely interrupted when an odd young man crosses their path. His attire is very strange, medieval even, as is his manner of speech. Words are exchanged with the unusual young man, and after thinking he had issued a marriage proposal for Tsukune to join 'his family', both him and Moka make a hasty retreat to the safety of their classroom.

XXX

"You finally attracted even a boy. It's pretty impressive being able to go so far, Tsukune. But if you keep being unfaithful like this, I'll have to stab you.", threatens Mizore, extending her ice claws while Kurumu wails about how having an affair with a woman was bad enough. This leaves Tsukune feeling very afraid of how the girls will react to his having chosen Moka, since it's clear that in their minds _they_ are the ones already in a relationship with him.

It is not until Kokoa decides to interfere by explaining that the boy was the heir of a famous Chinese mafia, the 'Won' family, that the misunderstanding gets cleared: Fong-Fong wanted Tsukune to join his mafia family, not marry him. The next obvious question of course is why this fellow would want to recruit Tsukune, and he appears in person to deliver the answer: Tsukune had gotten famous in the underworld when he single-handedly beat up the Yakuza gang that kidnapped Moka, and he was getting credit for the lot of them defeating the leader of Fairy Tail's local subdivision in that area. Worse, it was being claimed that he destroyed the entire subdivision, much to almost everyone's confusion.

The only person who knew something about it, Gin, decided to stay silent, so Fong-Fong carried on, restating his mission to find strong people, and inviting Tsukune to join his family. The girls all jump at him and tell him to forget about it, and to get out. Surprised, he demands to know the one thing Tsukune wishes he hadn't asked. "Why are you in my way? What is your relationship with Tsukune?!"

"We're his friends!", says Moka in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

"His lover.", states Kurumu, throwing a challenging glance at usually shy Moka.

"His wife..", deadpans Mizore, trumping Kurumu.

"Concubine.", goes Yukari, catching on to the game.

"Toy.", finishes Ruby, voicing her own desires.

The girls had clearly used the chance to 'confess' to Tsukune their desires, but he was quite distressed. "Don't go around saying anything you please like that!", he says, before he yelps, "wait, what the hell do you mean with toy?!"

The little display impresses the young mafia heir, who thinks it's quite formidable for someone in high school to already have everything from concubines to toys, and reinforces his belief that Tsukune is the man he's looking for. With this new development, he also thinks he finally has something to entice Tsukune with: The mafia would take care of all his women, and it wouldn't matter how many wives or lovers he had, they would all be well cared for and want for nothing, solving his problems for the future.

For his part, Tsukune exclaims that he doesn't want something like that, and shivers at the thought of inner Moka even hearing about it, but nobody listens to any of his protestations. In fact, the girls seem quite enamoured with the idea, and begin discussing it. In the meantime, Fong-Fong decides to challenge him to a duel, the stakes being if he looses, he has to join the mafia. Tsukune never agrees, but that doesn't seem to deter the young heir, who summons a large monster to go after him.

Tsukune gets thrown off the window, and the boy chases after him. Only Moka and Yukari appear interested in wanting to go help him, everyone else is busy discussing the polygamy arrangement. Moka and Yukari split up to try to find Tsukune, and it is Yukari who finds Tsukune first. It is with Yukari's help that he escapes the troublesome youth, but then gets an earful from the young witch, who apparently can look very terrifying when she's really mad. Unlike the other girls, she knows Tsukune won't pick her, she's certain he'll pick Moka. Therefore she thinks the polygamy idea is the perfect solution, for her and the other girls. Tsukune considers telling her the truth, that he has already picked, but thinks better of it. She's not mature enough to keep it to herself, and in her current emotional state might attack him as much as the other girls. Yukari begins to drag Tsukune back to the mafia boy by force, but they stop when they see him and Moka running towards them in a hurry.

Glancing up, Tsukune sees huge bouts of flame in the shape of a bird, and apparently, it's chasing after Moka and Fong-Fong. They barely have time to toss a quick explanation: It is a phoenix, a failed summon from Fong-Fong, and it is now after everyone, but specially after Tsukune. Apparently the phoenix is one of the strongest creatures there are, and so the three young students make a run for it.

The phoenix makes a dive for them, trying to crush them, and Tsukune realizes they won't be able to run in time, so he turns to face the creature, and disregarding his own safety orders Fong-Fong to take care of Moka and Yukari before charging the Phoenix. The impact is brutal, and triggers a small explosion, sending bits of debris and dust all over. When the dust settles, Tsukune can be seen holding back the giant bird's mighty beak with his arms – he had apparently caught it's dive and thus prevented the attack from reaching his friends.

Fong-Fong is as shocked as he's impressed, and convinced beyond any doubt that Tsukune is the person he needs for his organization. But Moka turns around and runs towards Tsukune, eyes glistening with worry, to try to help him. She grabs onto the phoenix's beak to help Tsukune. In a heartfelt confession, she tells Tsukune about how she also doesn't want him to join the mafia, because she doesn't want Tsukune involved with polygamy. The little witch looks furious, and the young heir looks distressed, but watching this display of raw power, they remain silent. For his part, Tsukune makes a double-take, this was clearly not the right time to be discussing that.

As if the phoenix had heard him, it yells in anger at being ignored and launches another ferocious attack. Feeling himself slipping, and fearing for Moka's safety, he manages to release her seal just in time. Her Youki flares wildly, and pushes away the flames, keeping them safe, as inner Moka awakens. Tsukune looks relieved that he released the seal in time, and offers Moka a warm smile as welcome.

She returns the smile, but adds, "We have to talk Tsukune. And frankly, I'm a little disappointed. You should be able to defeat an opponent of this level without me lending you my strength."

"I'm sorry Moka-san. If you want, I'll try now, and you can watch how I perform, I just wanted to make sure Moka-san was safe first.", he offers as apology.

She begins to nod her agreement when the phoenix mocks her, "So this is a 'mighty' true vampire? Pitiful. Are you planning on defeating an immortal phoenix like myself with such pathetic Youki? I will scorch you down to your bones!"

The phoenix attacks with a barrage of fire that blankets the earth, but Moka easily jumps over it. She energetically replies, "Amusing, that is my line! A little phoenix who has only just grown is nothing but a blundering novice. You're ten years too early to try to challenge the likes of me. Learn your place!" Her reply is punctuated by a seriously powerful kick that smashes the giant bird against the ground, hard. The only thing left when the dust settles is a delirious phoenix who apologizes and promises to go away before passing out.

Fong-Fong recovers from his surprise, and exclaims his amazement at the phoenix being defeated with a single kick. Tsukune tries to use this as an example of how there really are many people more powerful than him, and why the young heir should look elsewhere for strong people. Instead, in a fantastic display of faulty logic, he assumes that Tsukune must be stronger still, to have someone like inner Moka 'work for him'. He expands on his deductions, reaching the conclusion in his mind that Moka must be Tsukune's wife if she's with him, and the idea of that invincible partnership gets him even more excited. He's more eager than ever to have him join the mafia, while Moka looks on in mild annoyance.

Suddenly, the girls arrive all dressed up in sexy traditional Chinese clothing, chanting about polygamy and telling Tsukune to go ahead and join the mafia. Tsukune objects but it gets lost in a powerful yell from inner Moka.

"Don't get so cocky! You should be ashamed being so slutty! What polygamy, Tsukune claiming women as if he were ordering takeout?" Her gaze grows fierce as she stares at him, "Tsukune, I definitely won't allow it!"

He tries to protest his innocence but the girls seem enamoured with the idea, and Kurumu even challenges her back, "Who Tsukune chooses has nothing to do with you inner Moka!"

Tsukune is frozen in place._ 'Kurumu, shut up!'_ he manages to think.

Unaware of certain recent events, Kurumu carelessly carries on, "Or could it be that you're jealous, hm?" She assumes a mocking pleading pose as she carries on, "Are you going to start saying something ridiculous like _'__Oh Tsukune, pick me, __I'm the only one who can be __your __wife!__'__, _inner Moka? Ahahahha!"

Tsukune is horrified. Kurumu starts laughing her ass off at her own joke, picturing the stoic inner Moka making forlorn declarations of love about Tsukune. But when she glances up and she sees a blushing, seriously pissed off vampire, the laughter dies in her throat. A few seconds later, there is a pile of very bruised girls who now know better. Tsukune barely escapes her anger because she needs to talk to him, so she forcefully motions him to follow her for their evening training.

XXX

"I'm really sorry Moka-san, I kept telling them over and over that I didn't want anything to do with that polygamy..", he starts, as soon as they enter the training area known as 'paradise'.

She nods, but that's not what she wants to discuss with him, although she's happy she doesn't have to beat him up too. She wonders how to begin, but before she does, he approaches her.

"I am very happy to see you, though. I was looking forward to this all day", he says softening his tone.

She smiles, but she's troubled. This was not going to be easy, so she hesitates. "Tsukune.."

"Yes, Moka-san?", he asks, oblivious to what is coming.

"I need to talk to you." He turns to listen to her with curiosity, so she just nods and continues, "The truth is, I.."

Inner Moka is rudely interrupted by her outer self's inner wail,_ 'You are not about to do that! You care __about him! __Please stop__!'_

She actually does stop momentarily. She shakes her head, trying to clear her mind. She thinks about her pride and concludes that she has to tell him, she feels she owes him that much. "The thing is, I don't know how I feel about us, Tsukune." She states calmly. Turning to look at him she sees the incredible hurt in his eyes, so she adds quietly. "I hope you won't hate me for it."

"..I see." He turns his face to look away so she doesn't see the moisture forming in his eyes, and swallows hard. All the joy before is instantly drained from him. He wants to say more, but he can't. He feels if he speaks his emotions will overwhelm him. He only shakes his head as a reply.

_'What is wrong with you!?'_, sobs outer Moka from inside the Rosario.

One thing is certain, Ura is now feeling miserable. She thought she would feel relieved at confessing her doubts, that it would be out in the open, but the relief had not come, quite the opposite. Even someone who has issues identifying and dealing with their emotions can tell this much.

Maintaining a stoic expression, she walks up to him and places a hand on his shoulder. She really doesn't know what else to do. She considered just walking away, for it could minimize the hurt, but the moment she had started outer Moka had challenged her,_ '__So first make a mess and then run away, is that it?' _Her pride wounded at the notion she would run away from a problem, she has little choice but to stay and try to do _something._

He finally starts talking, reacting to her hand on his shoulder. Doing his best to keep his emotions at bay, and out of his voice, he speaks quietly, "I could never hate Moka-san. I once said that even if I were to die, no matter what I would still be Moka-san's friend. Now I will also add that no matter what, I will always love Moka-san."

She's touched at his latest confession, she expected him to at least be angry, and at worst to not want to talk to her and just look for solace her other self. She remembers how sincere he had been back then, and how he had kept his word no matter what. She smiles at this thought, but she is still unsure what to do next, so she gently turns him around to see his face.

His eyes glistening with unshed tears and a deep hurt startle her. His earlier warmth and happiness when he had seen her had evaporated just like that. No, _she _had taken it just like that, she chided herself. Instead she sees his hurt and an attempt at a brave face that couldn't begin to mask the flood of emotions, and she's surprised at how much it affects her. She has an almost irresistible urge to protect him, to take away the hurt, but she doesn't know what to do, or what she should have done instead. Surely having such doubts and just keeping them to herself was not doing him any long term favours, but now she was not so sure she had made the right choice.

Her own feelings of regret make it easier to determine what to do, once she acknowledges them, but her pride is in the way. Admitting to a weakness, a mistake, or an inability to do something with ease is not something she would consciously want to do. It is only the growing lump in her throat that finally motivates her to say something at all, "Look Tsukune.. I have feelings for you. But I need time to..figure out exactly what I feel. I didn't want to hurt you. Out of respect for you, I thought you deserved to know."

He tries to speak with a calm voice, willing it not to break, but isn't completely successful, "It's OK Moka-san. It's more than a guy like me deserves anyway, and more than I originally expected. I was always afraid inner Moka-san would never accept me, perhaps that's why it took me so long to finally accept my feelings." After a pause, he adds, "Besides, I really do deserve this, I realize this now."

Inner Moka is upset and lets out a growl before going on an inner rant, _'__This is exactly the problem! __At least one of the problems anyway.__ He looks down on himself, he has no pride, no will, no fire. How does he expect to be worthy of standing next to a proud vampire and be her lover, __never mind__ her mate? He's so much more than he gives himself credit for. __For crying out loud, how can __I__ be sure how __I__ feel about him when he's so.. so.. spiritless about himself.'_

_'Yes, because clearly we have made it so very easy for him to gain confidence and feel worthy and equal to us.', _offers Omote sarcastically.

Still grumbling, Ura replies to him, "This is part of the problem Tsukune. You have many qualities, but you lack self-confidence, and pride. Show me you deserve to stand by my side, that you have the will to overcome anything.." Tsukune only stares at her with mouth agape.

"You have shown me the courage in your heart, and the purity of your heart, and they are second to none. You have shown compassion and understanding, even to your enemies, thrown yourself in front of fireballs, risked life and limb for friends, and most dangerously of all — you _kissed_ _me_.", she adds with a small smile, and gets a chuckle in return before she finishes her diatribe, "Now you will need to show me the rest."

Getting him to chuckle breaks the tension. His hurt visibly lessens, and eases her own sadness, while she gives him time to assimilate what she has said.

After pausing for a while to think, just staring off into the distance, he slowly turns to look at her directly before asking, "Moka-san, I was wondering.."

"Yes Tsukune..?" she asks curiously.

"If.. if I manage to borrow the Belmont, would you.. would you like to go back to the Mononoke Arcade with me? Or anywhere else, really?", he asks quietly, trying to sound composed instead of timid.

At this she chuckles softly, "Are you asking me on a date, Tsukune?"

He laughs nervously before rubbing the back of his head, "Yes, I.. guess I am."

"Usually, one firsts asks the girl out, and then kisses her, you know.." she playfully mocks him.

He begins to blush furiously, and she grins for a moment, thinking it payback for her own embarrassment these past few days. However, after a small pause relishing on it, she replies with a warm voice, "Sure, I'd love to."

Moka thinks he has a snowball's chance in hell of getting the whip, but she wants to see him smile, and that does the trick. He looks happier, and she feels the better for it.

Not wanting to push things further, Ura suggests they just skip combat training today. Instead they perform an exhaustive workout and practice his fighting stances. After a long while working out stress, they decide to call it a night.

The mood is subdued, partially from exhaustion, and partially from the uncertainty of the future. As they turn to leave, she decides to call out to him, "Hey Tsukune!" He stops and turns to look at her questioningly, before she adds, "Have sweet dreams, OK?"

He replies calmly, "Only when you're in them.", before giving her a quick smile and walking off, leaving an amused vampire shaking her head.

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A/N: Chapter 5 Coming soon! Please look forward to it, and I'll see you then!


	5. Chapter 5: Midnight Thoughts

A/N: Wow, this one was hard. I rewrote the entire thing, sections at a time, like 2-3 times total. At this point I just want to post it, so after a proof reading, it should be up today. If I find anything terribly wrong afterwards, I'll edit it.

This took a week of solid effort, so if you're still enjoying the story, and you have the time, please let me know in comments. Apparently having more comments gets more people to read the story, who hopefully also like the story and also leave comments which gets.. etc. XD

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.

Once Moka had exited 'paradise' and returned the whip releasing outer Moka, she ran up to her room. She was not a happy camper, and as soon as she slammed the door shut, she began an angry tirade. She was scared, but she was also too hurt to really care anymore. Outer Moka couldn't stop seeing the look of hurt in Tsukune's face after having seen him so happy.

"What the hell was that, you were bored and decided let's just break his heart for fun?!", rounds off Omote.

'_Calm yourself, I had to tell him how I felt.'_, was the stoic reply.

"No you didn't! Specially since you don't know how you feel, apparently!", is Omote's frustrated counter.

There is silence before Omote hears a reply in a steady tone, '_I don't know what I really feel for him, and he does have a right to know. But I do regret hurting him.'_

After another pause, and inner Moka continues, '_This is difficult. You are rushing us into a situation I'm not comfortable with. Today even the damn succubus saw fit to mock me.'_

"OK, fine. Tell you what, let's go find Gin — err never mind, he's a disgusting pervert — let's go back home and ask Dad to introduce us to a good looking vampire guy. He'll be an S-class Youkai too, so you won't feel he's beneath you or unworthy or anything, right?! That should satisfy your precious pride! So then when he's there, all you have to do is pull him in your arms and kiss him! That way at least **you** will be happy!", replies outer Moka, barely pausing for breath during her frustrated rant.

_'Hah, as if I would just walk up to some attractive guy and kiss him like that. Even if Father commanded it, I would never kiss anyone I didn't..'_ she stops when she realizes what her other self did.

"Congratulations. We may have to call off the divination squads to help us figure out how you feel after all.", replies Omote in a more even voice, letting go of her anger and frustration, and allowing the exhaustion of the day to take over. She collapses on the bed and buries her head in the pillows.

Inner Moka remains silent for a while, before replying, _'I still need time to learn to deal with.. __this__. __He also is not ready. __I am a proud vampire, and my affections will not be given on a whim, even if it is my own__.' _

Outer Moka sighs and nods, "I.. I know. I'm sorry, I.. did see how you tried to be sweet to him after that.. and you did.. good." She pauses, "It's just.. I was so happy.. and I thought we would all be happy from now on, and it's going to be bad enough when the others find out, and I just wanted us to have this time for ourselves.."

After another long pause, she begins to feel a little better, and with a smile forming, she says, "But in the end, at least you did get him to ask us out on a date. I'm even a little jealous."

Inner Moka gets caught by surprise, and laughs. _'__You never cease to amaze me. I will tell you this much, to cheer you up. I do look forward to the date, if it somehow happens.' _Ura then gently teases her, _'Besides.. you do get to watch..'_

Omote blushes furiously, while Ura chuckles to herself.

After some time, Omote starts preparing for bed, she lays out her pyjamas, and goes brush her teeth, all the time thinking of Tsukune. Her mind begins to wander, before finally saying, "Ura-chan.. on a scale of one to ten, from bad to worse, how much of a bad idea would it be to go visit Tsukune right now?"

Inner Moka nearly chokes before replying. _'__Well..__w__ith one being a terrible idea, __let's say __an eleven. __Why do you want to go see him now?__'_

"It's just that.. I feel lonely. I just want him to hold me like that night, you know? He made me feel warm and protected, and loved. And after all this turmoil, I just..", Omote doesn't find the right words, but her emotions are felt quite clearly by her inner self.

Inner Moka face palms inwardly. Not because her outer self is feeling like that, she's used to her being emotional, but because she's actually considering her request.

After some thought, her inner self replies, _'Take a bath, you need one__. T__rust me.__',_ she gently chides her outer self. _'__It will also help you feel better.',_ she adds compassionately.

Omote nods wordlessly and heads for the bath.

XXX

Tsukune was sound asleep when a faint but constant rasping sound against his door wakes him up. With some concern he looks at the door wondering what it is. It could be something harmless, but in a school of Youkai, you can never be too sure, so he keeps his senses sharp. Or as sharp as they can be having just woken up. He's only wearing loose shorts and a t-shirt as he ambles towards the door. He carefully pries the door open and nearly falls back in shock. Imagine his surprise when he sees a shivering pink-haired vampire at this door, with a bundle in one hand, trying to not make too much noise.

He opens the door widely and ushers her in before looking out to see if anyone saw them, and he closes the door quickly. "Moka-san!? What's wrong? Did something happen?" he asks with concern, struggling to keep his voice down.

"Ah, well, no.." she begins to fidget, pressing her index fingers against each other in a nervous gesture, "It's just that.. I couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to be alone.. I hope you aren't angry that I came.."

His expression softens as his worry lessens, "Well, make yourself at home, and of course I'm always happy to see Moka-san."

"I'm so glad.. I was afraid you'd send me away..", she says blushing.

He now takes the time to look her over. She's wearing a robe but her hair is still damp, and she's grabbing the edges of her robe as if she were still cold. With a start, he stands up and goes to his bed, grabs the duvet, and wraps it around her shoulders. "That should keep you warm, let me make some tea."

Shaking her head she replies, "No, don't trouble yourself, I'm fine." But he only smiles and heads to the kitchen.

_'__He doesn't have enough sense to send you away. __Speaking of which__, __I did tell you to at least wear something warm, didn't I?', _her inner self admonishes.

"I thought the robe was very warm..", she replies bowing her head in an admission of guilt. She begins to feel warmer by the time Tsukune arrives carrying a tray with tea, but she still holds onto the cup with both hands to warm them up, before taking a sip.

Sitting across from her, he asks, "Are you feeling better?"

She smiles at him while nodding.

"I'm glad.", he smiles back. He's a bit nervous and doesn't know what to say, but he is glad she's here.

He then notices her staring at him, and becomes a bit self conscious, and even glances down to his shirt to see if he has a stain on it, before asking, "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, no.", she blushes. "It's just that..", she blushes even more but can't finish her sentence.

When he sees her shiver briefly, he puts his tea down and walks up to her, resting a hand on her shoulder while walking around her. He kneels down and embraces her from behind.

She sighs contently and leans back into his embrace, "Yeah, that." A warm smile adorns her face as she closes her eyes.

_'Good thing his mind reading skills are improving, since you're clearly an expert communicator about__ your own feelings__.',_ offers inner Moka in a neutral tone, hiding her amusement.

Tsukune is a little puzzled when he hears her begin to chuckle. If he could see her face, he would be even more surprised at seeing her sticking her tongue out. As it is, he remains simply happy holding his precious Moka in his arms. It is difficult to tell how long they remained like that, or who noticed the time first, since both began talking at the same time. "Maybe.."

"Go ahead, Moka-san." says Tsukune, stopping his own 'Maybe'

She shakes her head, "no, no, you go first? What did you want to say?", replies Moka.

"I was thinking that perhaps it was time to go to bed, since we have school tomorrow. I was then thinking that on the other hand, sleep was overrated and I'd rather hold you like this.", he says with a smile. "But then I realized you also needed your rest. Then I thought perhaps we could get away with not going to school, but then everyone would notice and come looking for us. So I was going to mention the time after all."

"Wow, that's a lot more than what I was thinking..", she smiles faintly.

"Oh?", asks Tsukune.

Tsukune watches her stand up, holding the duvet that's still wrapped around her shoulders, before removing it and passing it to him. He can see her begin to blush, but she doesn't say anything. Instead he just stares with growing eyes as she moves to a nearby chair and removes her robe, which exposes a very cute pink pyjama with a bat print design. He begins to blush himself, while her own blush intensifies as she neatly folds her robe and sets it on the chair.

She then walks to the edge of his bed, and proceeds to lie down, scooting to the side that is against the wall. She is facing the wall to hide her blushing, that is growing out of control by now.

Tsukune is rooted to the spot, and he nearly passes out from his own bashfulness. He begins to try to figure out what to do. Ask what she's doing? Turn off the light? Sleep on the floor? Join her? He finally decides that he doesn't want to ruin this, but he's going to take the safest route. He goes and turns off the light, before going back to the bed. Once he reaches it, he takes the duvet in his arms and throws it over Moka's silent form before tucking her in. He finally lets himself slide beside the bed to the floor. He can live with sleeping on the floor for one night, it will be like camping with his beloved vampire, and that thought brings a happy smile to his face.

Moka's blush can't increase, but it certainly tries when she feels herself being tucked in by Tsukune. She closes her eyes waiting to feel his weight on his side of the bed, but it never comes. Eventually her puzzlement beats her shyness and she turns to see what happened. She gasps as she sees him trying to make himself comfortable on the floor next to her. Forgetting her nervousness she calls out to him and when he turns around to look at her, she grabs his arm and pulls him up roughly.

Tsukune is quite surprised as he lands on the bed with a small thud. He can't help but wonder at how strong Moka is even in her sealed state. He watches a furiously blushing vampire turn around and again face the wall away from him, unwilling or unable to say anything after her earlier display. He tentatively lies down on the bed, and turns on his side to watch Moka. He doesn't want to say anything, but common sense wins over his desire to just shut up and lie next to her.

He prods her shoulder gently, "So, when I get killed tomorrow, can you please come up with something witty for my tombstone?", he asks her, trying to sound funny instead of nervous.

She giggles before she replies, "Ura-chan said that tonight it was OK for me to sleep next to you.. if you didn't object, that is."

Tsukune was incredulous, "What? No, of course not, but she said that? But.."

He gets cut off as she tries to preempt his question, "..we were taking a bath, and it had been very emotional earlier.. I talked to her about the training grounds.. and then I went to take a bath and.. well.. anyway.. she said it would be OK to come.", she half-explains in a small voice.

"Did something happen..? Are you OK?", he asks with some concern. Clearly something had to have happened for Ura to have agreed to this, he reasoned.

"..ask me again sometime? I.. just need to be close to you right now.", she says quietly.

Tsukune is even more concerned now, but it's obvious she doesn't want to talk about it. He hadn't seen any bruises or other injuries, so that was good, and it allows him to breathe a bit easier. Then again, her hair had been humid, meaning she hadn't taken the time to dry herself properly, so she had been distressed and in a hurry to get here, he concluded. Not knowing what to actually do, he just slides under the covers while still facing her. He moves a bit closer, but makes sure he isn't actually touching her.

_'Bah. Just grab his arm __if you want to do it that much__. And get to sleep, I need my rest too, and you'll need to wake up early in the morning to leave before everyone else wakes up!'_, exhorts inner Moka.

At this Omote smiles warmly while touching her Rosario in gratitude, "Thank you. Good night."

Tsukune hears her, but doesn't know why she's thanking him. What he does know is that suddenly she turns around with a beaming smile, a blush from head to toe, grabs his arm, and holding it, turns back around.

Tsukune is surprised, but he does move in closer to properly hug Moka. He's so close now that he can smell her hair. It smells nice, of strawberries and herbs.

For her part, Moka wraps herself in his one arm and holds it near her chest with her hands, cuddling against it.

He wonders how exactly he's going to manage to fall asleep with her in his arms, but the exhaustion of the day provides the answer: quite easily. He manages to whisper, "Good night, Moka-san..", before finally drifting into a happy sleep.

Sighing contently, she only replies, "Good night Tsukune."

XXX

The next morning, Tsukune wakes up wondering if everything had been another amazing dream. His eyes begin to adjust to the light, and he sees a waft of pink hair in front of him. It isn't until he traces it back down to it's owner, and sees the gorgeous vampire snuggled against him in her sleep that he begins to give credence to this not being a dream. Barely.

His breath catches in his throat at this beauty in his arms, part of him wants to just watch her like that forever, while another part can't resist the urge to use his hand to remove stray hairs from her face, before he begins to gently caress her.

Omote begins to wake up to a feeling of bliss. Unsure at the beginning why, she can't remember feeling so warm and happy. It takes her a bit until she realizes she's not in her bed and she begins to recall the night before, and starts to feel where she is: in his arms. She closes her eyes again, finally noticing his lazy caress of her cheek, down her neck, and back again. On the one hand, she wants to remain like this for as long as she can, but on the other hand, she's dying to see him, so she finally says, "Good morning Tsukune."

"Good morning, Moka-san. Did you sleep well?", replies Tsukune with a caring voice.

"Uh-huh!", comes the chirpy reply. She turns around to face him, and just gazes at him. He gazes back.

"Ah, this is just like my dream. Moka-san, if I'm still dreaming, please don't wake me up, OK?", he finally says happily.

Omote giggles, but then replies in a more cautious tone, "Well, almost; aren't you disappointed that it wasn't Ura who woke up in your arms?"

Furrowing his brow in puzzlement, he shakes his head, "To me, Moka-san is Moka-san." To emphasize what he means, he leans forward, gently caresses her Rosary, and adds softly, "Good Morning, Ura Moka-san."

Outer Moka feels her Rosary warm up, but nothing else. She does blush slightly when he leans closer.

_'Good morning Tsukune. __Did you manage to get any rest __sleeping next to a snoring vampire?'_, replies Ura after a bit, with a hint of amusement, even though he can't hear her.

"I don't snore!", whines Omote while frowning at her Rosary, while she senses Ura chuckling to herself.

Tsukune is amused, even though he doesn't fully understand what that little outburst was about, but he can imagine. "Hey.." is all he says, wanting outer Moka to turn back to look at him, and when she does, he leans forward to kiss her.

It is with no small amount of surprise that he finds his attempt to kiss her stopped by her own hand. She puts two fingers on his lips to separate them from hers, before she looks at him conspiratorially, "Wait Tsukune, you can't just kiss me like that."

He looks puzzled, but she continues, "OK, let's see..", she says, before she moistens one of her fingers in her mouth, raises it and her hand all the way up and moves it every which way. "Excellent, there's no wind. But just to be safe..", she finishes, before she leans forward and pulls Tsukune into a long, slow kiss.

"What was that about", he asks with quiet contentment as they separate to catch their breaths.

She shrugs, "Ura had mentioned she did not want you to kiss me when the wind is blowing. I don't know, must be a vampire thing.", doing her best to sound disinterested in the matter.

_'Cute. You're going to pay for that one.'_, promises inner Moka.

Omote begins to giggle and kisses a confused but happy Tsukune lightly on the cheek, before she's assaulted by a wave of growing fear.

_'Wait, what time is it? You were supposed to wake up before all the other students. There is way too much light in this room..', cautions Ura._

XXX

In the end it had been a real problem. She had ended having to stay in his room since it was way too late to return to hers unnoticed. Since he only had a shower in his room, she had had to use the washbasin to hastily wash up. She had taken the precaution of bringing some herbs at Ura's urging, just in case she needed to brush her teeth or something, but it had been difficult, and time consuming, to wash up using only the little basin. Worse, she couldn't enter the washroom while Tsukune was using it for his own shower.

Then again, part of her wasn't sorry about _that _part_. _In order to make room for her as fast as possible, Tsukune had taken his shower and proceeded to exit the room while still wet wearing nothing but towels. She had loved seeing him like that, even if she had blushed like mad and had turned away, as he also blushed. But when it was her turn to get dressed it had been very awkward, with Tsukune resorting to locking himself in the washroom until she was done, all the while having to hear Ura's admonitions about setting the clock, and responsibility, and – at least it felt like it – every mistake she had ever done in her life. She groaned just remembering it.

She regretted that Tsukune had missed breakfast because of her. Ironically, the plan they had come up with, namely having her jump out the window to avoid any caretakers once it was only 5 minutes before school start, meant she had been left alone in his room with time to spare, so _she _had gotten breakfast. Obviously Ura had not wasted any time reminding her of _that_ either. Ura was upset, and wanted her to feel sorry, but she wasn't furious, strangely enough.

She sighs. She _really_ wants to feel guilty, but can't. She is just too enthralled at having woken up in his arms, and every time she feels bad about anything, a smile crawls back into her face unbidden, as a deep warmth fills her chest. She finally wonders if the reason Ura wasn't that mad was because inwardly she might feel something similar. After all she had noticed how relatively playful Ura had been earlier, when Tsukune wished her good morning and basically claimed he felt as if he were holding both girls in his arms. However, even Omote knew enough to make sure her inner self didn't hear her current wayward musings.

Finally it's time, and she jumps out the window, and, having listened to her inner self on how to do it properly, she proceeds to roll herself as she lands. It isn't a perfect landing, and she gets dirt on the clean uniform she had brought with her, but at least she was unharmed. Dusting herself off, she takes off as fast as she can towards the school, and doesn't notice anything until suddenly someone who had been carefully hiding jumps in front of her as she's almost there. Her eyes grow wide when she sees it's Tsukune.

"Moka-san! I thought it would be best if I waited for you, this way we can say you were feeling unwell and I went to find you!"

She tries to say something but she's out of breath, so she just smiles in gratitude, touched that he waited for her, and nods. They take off the rest of the way into school and just barely manage to rush into the classroom on time.

Angry stares greet them. "Where in Hades were you? We kept looking for you two all over! And why is she out of breath?!", asks an irate succubus.

"I'm sorry guys, I was with Moka-san. She was not in our usual spot when I showed up, so I went to find her. She was not feeling well. Afterwards we hurried as much as we could to make it on time."

"**Settle down everyone! I will have no talking in class! Aono-san, ****Akashiya-san, you barely make it in time and then cause a ruckus. Any more out of you and it will be detention, I'm afraid."**, says their teacher with a strong and energetic voice, trying to maintain discipline.

Both Tsukune and Moka bow slightly with their heads before replying quietly, "Yes, Sensei."

The girls still look a bit upset but it seems that excuse pacified them some. Giving it more thought, Tsukune realized belatedly that if he hadn't waited for Moka, the girls wouldn't have bat an eyelash. They could likely have used the same excuse about Moka not feeling well to explain her tardiness, but nobody would have cared. He sighs, he wasn't thinking clearly because he really had wanted to wait for her; it had just felt horribly empty going to school without Moka at his side.

But because of his actions, the girls now look at them suspiciously. They try to not appear as exuberantly happy as they actually feel, but the light blush on both their cheeks is much harder to hide.

XXX

During lunch, Tsukune and the girls gathered at the cafeteria and sat by a remote table in a corner. It had become their favourite, and people knew to avoid it now that there were all kinds of rumours about the Newspaper Club being powerful and potentially dangerous. Him and Moka were still being scrutinized, but he tried to divert attention by asking small details about the other girls. Things such as what Kurumu enjoyed doing when she went back home, or how wands were made. This seemed to work and slowly tempers went back to normal. Nobody even noticed he didn't ask Moka anything.

"You know Tsukune, now that you mention it, it seems we don't know enough about each other's lives outside of school that much. So let's play a game! We'll all agree on a single question, and then we all have to answer the same question truthfully! What do you think?", asks Kurumu excitedly.

"Well, it sounds like it could be fun..", replies Tsukune cautiously. It also sounds like it could be disastrous, but he can hardly say that, so he hopes he can simply channel the question asked into something harmless. Besides, this should help further distract Kurumu.

"OK, how about, 'who do you like the most?'", asks Kurumu. Moka and Tsukune immediately begin to choke, not being able to voice their objections to the question fast enough, but Kurumu, not even looking at their reactions, just laughs before adding, "kidding! How about, 'tell one secret of your choice, that nobody knows, and you would never tell anyone'."

"I don't know Kurumu, that sounds..", begins Tsukune. He wants to say dangerous, but can't come up with a decent way to object.

"Aw, don't be a stick in the mud, that does sound like fun!", exclaims Yukari.

Moka nods nervously. She doesn't want to draw attention to herself by objecting. Besides, maybe she can come up with something innocuous.

"Yahoo-hoo! So we're agreed then! OK, let's see.. who should we start with..", exclaims Kurumu.

"Let's start with Moka since she was late!", exclaims Yukari enthusiastically.

_'Gee, thanks Yukari'_, thinks Moka before hesitantly replying, "I.. I think I'm addicted to Tsukune's blood.." she says quietly, pressing the tips of her fingers against each other in a nervous gesture.

Kurumu looks at her in disbelief. "THAT is a secret? Yeah, I don't think so. Try again! Make it something less obvious, like, maybe 'my hair is pink' or something.", huffs out Kurumu.

Moka deeply blushes. She did think it was a secret. It doesn't help that Ura laughs at the succubus' joke and joins in an amused voice, _'Tell them how well you __slept__ last night, that should satisfy them..'_

She vigorously shakes her head to try to get rid of her bashfulness, and as a reply to her inner self's suggestion. Stopping to think a moment, one thought suddenly comes to her mind, and won't leave. "My greatest fear is that everyone will leave me..", she finally replies meekly, glancing down.

Tsukune rushes to her side and immediately hugs her. Kurumu, while bothered as she sees this, also walks over to embrace her friend in a warm hug, and Yukari nearly tackles them all. "Don't be silly, we would never abandon you. We're your friends!", replies Kurumu confidently.

At this time, Tsukune notices that Mizore isn't around, and he just assumes she's stalking them from afar. Trying to make Moka feel a bit better and distract her he says, "OK, it's my turn, and I have a confession to make."

That does seem to do the trick, because everyone looks up at him expectantly. He glances at Moka and taking a deep breath, he begins, "I crave Moka-san.."

Kurumu looks horrified, Yukari has her mouth hanging agape. Moka might as well have seen a ghost. You could have dropped a nail right there between the friends and hear it clearly bounce around, except for Tsukune's words while he kept talking.

It takes the group a full second to register the end of his sentence. "..Moka-san's blood. I sometimes feel the urge to drink it, but I force myself not to.", he finishes, gazing down while blushing.

Everyone looks less horrified, but incredibly shocked. Glancing up, Tsukune notices that his little confession did have the desired effect, except it had been way too effective. He might as well have announced he was growing a secret third arm. It appears everyone even forgot about the game.

"This is great, if you're turning into a vampire, I can become the meat in a delicious vampire sandwich!", exclaims Yukari.

"..No.", is all that a shocked Kurumu can say. It's not that she's not thinking anything else, it's that she's thinking too much too quickly to form it into coherent thought. Is he really becoming a vampire? Does he crave other people's blood? Why wouldn't he drink from her if she drinks from him all the time? Why didn't he crave HER blood? And so on.

Moka for her part also looks shocked. However her earlier paleness when she thought Tsukune was blurting out their relationship, and more, had been replaced with a deep red blush that went all the way to the tip of her ears, and she hid her face behind her hands in a feeble attempt to hide her embarrassment.

There was silence at their little table for a bit. To everyone's surprise, the one who broke the silence was Mizore, who suddenly just appeared from a duct in the ceiling. "I have a secret to share too."

Everyone stares at her as they recover from the brief fright at her sudden appearance. After pausing for effect, she calmly states, "I know what Moka and Tsukune were really doing this morning, and what they have been doing these past few days."


	6. Chapter 6: Blood & Friends

A/N: Please don't lynch me.

.

* * *

Such a simple sentence, so many consequences. "I know what Moka and Tsukune were really doing..", that was the fuse that lit a sea of emotions. Moka and Tsukune were rooted to the spot, with growing senses of terror clearly visible on their faces. Yukari's eyes lit up as she began to contemplate possibilities. Kurumu might as well have been slapped across the face. Only Mizore remained calm after her little revelation.

Kurumu tries to recover first. "W.. what do you mean?! What have they been doing?!", she demands angrily.

"They have been meeting in secret every chance they get, for a few days now. It's not just mornings when they rush to meet up. Even that day when we all returned from our summer vacation, they ran to meet up while we unpacked.", explains Mizore.

Kurumu can't believe what she's hearing. Her mouth is hanging open, and she doesn't know what to say. Her problem is that her anger is fighting a fierce battle with her fear. Surely it can't possibly mean that.. No. No way. The thought is killed brutally and efficiently, before it can crystallize in her consciousness. Maybe the damn stalker is wrong. Or lying. Or something.

Mizore finishes her exposition, "Look at Moka's face. She was radiant in class; is that the look of someone who was supposedly ill? She's the picture of health.." She's slightly annoyed that she has to explain so much, but it can't be helped, the boob woman was a bit dense, and she would need her help.

Tsukune felt the floor falling from under him. He had been so careful. What about his training, he had been sure to always scan the area for any presence. Except for that one time, there had never been anyone within range. He doesn't even notice that his mouth moves of it's own accord, exhaling the question burning in his mind, "..how.."

Mizore manages to hear him, and decides to add casually, "And it was not easy. Tsukune has learned to sense Youki. Even masking it, he can tell there is someone nearby. I'm pretty sure he caught me the first time. After that I could only watch them from afar to avoid being caught."

"But then how could you tell what they were doing?", asks Yukari with great curiosity.

"I couldn't.", replies Mizore calmly. "That is why I had to wait so long to confront them. But with the recent evidence, it now seems clear."

Moka and Tsukune gulped nearly on cue. They had guilt written all over their faces. Moka hung her head in shame, blushing wildly, while Tsukune was trying very hard to avoid looking at anyone, and looked pale as a ghost. He was fighting his instinct to just make a run for it, pulling Moka behind him.

"So what the hell where they doing!", demands Kurumu finally loosing what composure she still had, raising her voice to the point where everyone in the cafeteria stops talking and just looks over at their table in wonder. "And why the hell are you so calm!"

"Unlike you, I have had time to think about this. Every time it is the same. They meet up, she leaves happy, sometimes even skipping for joy, and he looks sad. He still smiles, but you can see the sadness if you look for it. Very disturbing really. I would approach as soon as they parted to look for hints. I correctly assumed they would drop their guard the moment they turned to leave. When you consider her earlier attempt at a confession, and that she saw it as a deep secret, the solution is obvious, isn't it.", replied Mizore as calm as ever.

Yukari's eyes grow wide with understanding. "You mean she really IS addicted to his blood, like for real, and is drinking from him every time she can!"

Since Mizore continued talking in a calm manner, Kurumu had sat back down in her own attempt to look cool. Everyone else made an effort to keep their voice within reason, so the cafeteria slowly returned to it's normal droning.

"I asked Ruby to do some research on human blood donations. I don't fully understand the terms involved, but essentially he would be long dead if he didn't have fast healing. And even with that, we don't really know what his new limit is."

Yukari looks scared and concerned. Mizore is now staring at Moka, allowing her contempt to show. Kurumu is boiling with barely suppressed anger, with the other stray thoughts firmly forgotten. Moka can't believe they had reached this conclusion, but her earlier embarrassment and shame was still too fresh to suddenly brush away, so she continues to stare at the floor while blushing, hanging her head down.

Tsukune takes a deep breath to start to say something to protect Moka, but then realizes he doesn't have anything useful to say. _'Ah, don't worry girls, she was only kissing me, __and only drank blood half th__ose __time__s__?'_ Yeah, that would go over well, he chastises himself.

As Mizore sees Tsukune getting ready to say something, she interjects in her matter of fact voice, "Save it Tsukune. We all know you are too nice to say no, and will protect her no matter what." Turning to Kurumu who is about to explode she adds, "Try to remain calm Kurumu, remember where we are, we don't need a scene. Besides, he will probably release the seal if you try to harm Moka."

Kurumu looks as if she had been slapped, again, and just as she was about to launch into a yelling tirade. Instead she hisses angrily, "Fine! I can't believe you Moka! And don't even try to deny it! And you Tsukune, can't you see she only wants you for your blood? Stand up for yourself! You're not her food!"

Turning to Moka, Kurumu raises the tone of her hiss, "And we're going to now keep a sharp eye on you. This is it, no more blood from Tsukune for you!"

Moka recoils at this verbal assault and threat, but she doesn't dare to say anything. Her eyes begin to moisten as she struggles to not have tears form.

At this Tsukune finds his voice and firmly replies, struggling to keep his own voice down, "It's not like that! She doesn't just like me for my blood! Did you even know that last year she went without blood so long she was became ill, just because she didn't want to hurt me?!" Taking a more indignant tone he affirms, "I will not allow this! I will not risk her health just over this! It is I how made her promise she would tell me whenever she wanted blood."

"Fine!" replies a still very annoyed succubus. "We won't allow her to get sick, but we will monitor her drinking to make sure she only takes what she needs to stay healthy!" She got firm nods from the other two girls at this newest idea.

_'What mess did your carelessness now get __us__ into? And why do these girls presume to have any saying over my property? Get Tsukune to remove the Rosario.'_, an annoyed Ura interjects.

"It's fine. I can live without so much blood for a few days, and I was careless like you say. The alternative is worse, and explaining why his blood is yours won't be any better.", whispers Omote back.

_'Explain? Who said anything about explaining..'_, says inner Moka in a tone that elicits a cold shiver from Omote. _'But if this is what you wish, I suppose learning to accept consequences __for your lack of control __has it's own merits.__'_, and with that, Ura went silent.

"Tsukune, nobody wants to see her hurt, but this might even be good for her, and even if you're upset right now, it will be good for you too. Give your body time to fully recover. It may even help you avoid injuries in training, if you're not so drained all the time.", adds Mizore in a conciliatory tone.

Tsukune looks defeated, and although he shakes his head, he knows he can't find good arguments. He briefly considered pulling the Rosario. Ura is very intelligent, he was certain she could come up with a solution. Then he realized one of the likeliest solutions Ura would consider, and decided it was best to not pull the Rosario after all.

Due to a strange coincidence, both Moka and Tsukune had that Ura-induced cold shiver run down their spines at exactly the same time.

XXX

After classes, Tsukune hurried out and ran up to the roof to get some air. Once out there, he sighed. They really had been careless, and were now paying the price. At least a full-blown scandal in the middle of the cafeteria had been avoided, he thought without joy.

Moka suddenly comes through the doors to the roof, and they both stare at each other, realizing they both chose the same spot to escape to. After quickly recovering from their surprise, they run towards each other and embrace.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Moka-san.", starts Tsukune.

"Tsukune! I don't like you for your blood.", exclaims Moka at the same time.

They blush at having talked at the same time, but Tsukune chuckles, "I know that much.", before smiling warmly.

He gently caresses her face and out of habit leans her head against his shoulder. She allows her head to be lead there and his arms hold her close, a huge wave of emotion envelops her.

"Stop!", commands a familiar voice in anger, but they can't see anyone at first.

"I will not allow you to keep drinking his blood, stay away from him Moka, or else!" When the mysterious speaker sees their clueless search for her, she yells, "Up here! And I said, move apart!"

As they let go of each other, Kurumu lands gracefully on the roof and with a flourish, she bows, mocking an introduction to the stunned pair, "To protect Tsukune's precious blood, enter Chief Captain of the Vampire Air Patrol, Kurono Kurumu!"

The pair manage to look at each other's blank stares before turning back to face the succubus. They just look at her in disbelief, mouths agape. She even took the time to change into something that looks like an official uniform.

At this time Yukari arrives on the rooftop panting, and having heard the succubus' declaration, she mocks loudly, "Captain, and only member."

"Hey! I bet we can recruit Ruby too, and she flies!", argues Kurumu with annoyance.

"She would be your senior then. Maybe we can then make you the official mascot of the Air Patrol, the flying boob!", retorts Yukari with a wide grin.

"You should be a mascot, you pet-sized flat-board witch!", calls Kurumu out in anger, while heading towards the witch. She grabs Yukari by her waist and rubs her flat chest for emphasis. "See? We can even use all this empty flat space here to put a nice logo!"

Yukari manages to wave her wand and a fast flying pan lands on Kurumu's head, temporarily dazing her. Looking around, she sees that Moka and Tsukune aren't around anymore. _'Ugh, it's that damn Kurumu's fault!'_ she thinks with annoyance.

XXX

Tsukune used the confusion to pick Moka up in his arms and run as fast as he possibly could, briefly transforming as he did.

"This will only buy us a few minutes.", he says in between pants, once stopping.

She gazes down sadly, "I know, I'm sorry, if only I hadn't -"

Tsukune cuts her off, "It isn't just your fault, I have also been careless, and underestimated Mizore."

"Anyway, before they do catch up, I just thought maybe you wanted.. one last time before they don't leave us alone..", he says with a smile.

"Tsukune..", she turns her sad gaze into a smile of her own.

"Moka-san..", he looks at her warmly.

"Yes, you did..", is the voice that comes behind some trees, scaring the living daylights out of them.

"Mizore!", they both exclaim at the same time.

"I knew the succubus would be unreliable, and this was the likeliest place you would escape to, if you tried to run away. Things are dire if you can't help yourselves a few hours after getting caught.", admonishes Mizore in a quiet voice.

Both just hung their heads down in resignation and slowly walked away from each other, dragging their feet, each step feeling like one too many that separated them. They lift their gazes to share one last sad look before they were too far apart.

From then on, every time one of the two was alone, suddenly one of their friends would pop by and walk with them. Sometimes, most often in fact, they would be trailing Tsukune, but when he managed to give them the slip, they would have a contingency plan in place and be already surrounding outer Moka.

"Tsukune, would you want to go watch the sun set? With all of us, apparently..?"

"Ah, Moka, good thing I caught you. You must be feeling lonely, I'll keep you company."

"Ah Tsukune, can you please help me, I can't find my wand, and I'm completely helpless without it."

"Moka, just who I was looking for! Want to paint each other's toe nails?"

"Tsukune, just who I was looking for! Want to paint each other's toe nails? Err wait no, wrong list, err, can you help me math homework, I don't want to trouble Moka, and Yukari is refusing.."

That is pretty much how the entire afternoon went by, with occasional added interruptions by Fong-Fong, who again insisted Tsukune joined the mafia. He even toyed with the idea of agreeing in exchange for an invisibility gadget for two, but he doubted such a thing existed, even in this world. But he was getting frustrated, and knew Moka couldn't be doing much better. It was with some relief that he welcomed the time to start training.

XXX

"Greetings Tsukune, seems you got yourselves into a mess there. They are even beginning to annoy me, and I even found it amusing at the beginning.", greets him inner Moka when he enters the training area known as 'paradise.'

Tsukune cheers up significantly, since at least now he can spend some time with Moka alone, even if most of the time will be spent dodging trips to the infirmary. "Hello Moka-san, it's very good to see you again.", he smiles warmly.

Inner Moka is also happy to see him, but she's troubled. She wants to suggest just telling the girls what he had decided, but then she realized she really wasn't ready to make declarations of love, remembering Kurumu's mocking with annoyance. She shakes her head, perhaps a good intense training session would bring the insight she needs.

Their thoughts are interrupted by three new presences, which inner Moka senses the second they step through the portal. She exclaims angrily, "What in the name of The Three Dark Lords are you all doing here?!"

"We came in case you hadn't gotten the whip yet..", started Yukari before getting violently silenced by Kurumu, just as inner Moka was about to round off on them.

"Don't mind the child, we came to see how well Tsukune is doing, it is quite impressive to watch both of you fight.", replies Mizore calmly.

"Yeah, maybe we can learn something too!", adds Kurumu.

Inner Moka is irritated. She can't decide what's more insulting, the fact they think she wouldn't see through their pathetic lies, or that they expect her to just swallow them. Hounding Omote was one thing, but now interfering with her training crosses the line. One they would regret crossing. Multiple times.

She turns to them, exposing her growing smile as she begins planning exactly what she's going to do to them, and with fangs clearly showing she warns them, "Do as you wish. But this is not a playground."

With that, she turns away from them and walks up to an astonished Tsukune who is just staring at the new arrivals and their exchange with inner Moka. They seem shaken, but still resolute enough in their decision to stay that they sit down.

Once she's close enough that he can whisper without being overheard, he asks with incredulity, "You're going to let them stay?"

"They are of no concern. Listen up Tsukune, I was planning on taking things up a bit more seriously today, but then they showed up, so I want you to concentrate. This will get dangerous.", warns inner Moka in a quiet tone.

Tsukune gulps. It was always dangerous. Very dangerous in fact. If she was now claiming it was going to get dangerous, he was worried. He asks her timidly, "Y..you're not going to hurt them, are you?"

"I thought about it. But no, they may hurt themselves by staying here however. And you best not waste one single thought on them during our fight, or your life will be in danger.", warns Ura.

Tsukune now looks very very concerned. Her words did nothing to help him feel any better, quite the opposite in fact.

"Do you recall my little fight with Kalua?" She waited for his nod before she continued, "I am going to attack you with the same strength." Pausing to see his reaction, she could see the growing sense of terror. "I will not use the same speed, so you should be able to dodge if you make no mistakes. So, DON'T MAKE MISTAKES.", she admonishes harshly.

Taking a deep breath, and at Omote's constant urging, which varied between a panicky _'What? Noooo!'_ to begging _'At least give him confidence! He's terrified!', _she finally adds, "You can do this Tsukune. Just think of me as if I were one of those thugs who kidnapped Omote. Don't hesitate, attack with everything you have, as if you were trying to save me. I have faith in you."

He looked a little more sure of himself, taking a deep breath of his own and forced himself to calm down, before he nodded to her.

In a commanding voice, making sure she could be clearly heard by the three girls, she yelled, "This is not a game Tsukune! Don't let their presence distract you, or your life will be over. Are you ready!?"

Tsukune's Youki suddenly flares, as his eyes turn red and his hair begins to turn silver. He knows he has to put it all on the line. He begins trying to remember how he had felt when Omote had been kidnapped, and tries to picture one of the goons in front of him, the one with the gun, pointing it at her. His Youki flares wildly, intensifying as his hands ball into fists and he can feel his anger pounding against his chest, demanding blood, and flowing towards those same fists. He bares his fangs on instinct, and he nods towards Moka.

The girls were taken aback when they saw that. Their precious Tsukune looked like a ferocious vampire about to strike, in fact he looked similar to how inner Moka had looked to them the first time they had seen her, and they suddenly felt cold, even Mizore. This was a strange cold for the snow girl, not a comforting one like she was used to, but the cold sense of fear, made more disturbing by emanating from him.

They had been already scared at how strong he was when they had seen him in action during Moka's rescue. But this was beyond that. These were not humans he was fighting, he was not concerning himself with possibly killing someone. In fact, quite the opposite, he was trying to feel the urge to kill his target, and succeeding. Once awakened, the instincts of his vampire blood demanded blood.

Their terror intensified when they suddenly felt inner Moka let loose her own Youki. This was not the usual overwhelming aura that she normally had around her, oh no. This was not the kind of energy that she used to give a lazy kick to one silly orc oh so long ago, smashing him against a cliff side, not even the energy used to kick a boisterous phoenix unconscious, no this was the kind of energy she had used to shatter the internal organs of another incredibly powerful vampire in one kick.

All three were terrified, they had been only half-conscious the last time she had done this, but now they were fully aware. Still, like moths to the flame, they just couldn't look away, they couldn't obey every instinct in their body that was screaming at them to just get out, run as far as they could for as long as they could and never come back.

Suddenly, it happened. She nodded to Tsukune, she got acknowledgement in his eyes, then there was a blur, and all hell broke loose.

Tsukune was barely able to see her move, _'I thought she said she was going to slow down, __I'll never dodge this, __ack!'_, was all he manages to think before he has to spin around and put a double block to cushion the impact of the kick. He expected to hear the sound of his arms breaking and the pain associated with it, but to his surprise the kick had been lighter than usual. Of course, this still meant it had sent him 20 feet painfully flying through the air with serious bruises on his arms, at considerable speed, and in the direction of the three stupefied girls, who barely managed to scramble out of the way.

As fast as he had travelled the distance, he knew he needed even more distance to reestablish his balance, so as he was landing in the middle of scampering girls, he pushes with his hands and turns the movement into a back-flip. He had barely moved when a blur of a vampire reaches his previously occupied space delivering a powerful strike with all her power against the ground where he would have first landed. The Youki-fuelled shock wave sends all the girls who were barely getting out of the way, painfully flying.

As Tsukune landed he establishes a ready stance and prepares an attack. As the fierce vampire jumps at him he begins with a powerful front kick which Ura easily dodges, but which had really only been a feint. He dodges her knee strike with a sliding step, barely, while attempting to connect with an elbow strike.

He's succeeding in picturing a dangerous blur that must be defeated to protect Moka instead of seeing Ura, but he is still hesitating ever so slightly: Each time he attacks he has to concentrate on thinking it's not inner Moka, and even a quarter of a second hesitation is entirely too much when fighting an opponent with that kind of speed.

She dodges under the blow and jumps in the air delivering a powerful roundhouse kick. The moment he missed he expected the gruesome counter, so he pushes himself backwards while rotating with the direction of her next kick. On instinct he delivers a brutal backhand swing as he's flung back by the remaining force of her kick. He crashes against Kurumu, hard, with more than enough force to send them both crashing into Mizore. Only the little witch tumbled out of the way.

"What the hell are you doing?", exclaims Ura with marked irritation as she approaches the smouldering pile of bodies. She grabs Tsukune and pulls him to his feet and turns to glare angrily at the girls. "You're in the way. If you keep distracting him, he's going to die. And he will not be the only one." With this Ura turns to a shaky Tsukune and firmly commands, "Take a few minutes to rest, those fools got you injured. We begin again in 15." Without any further words, she marches away and goes sit down a distance from everyone.

Tsukune nods, but seems a bit puzzled. He looks around and sees his friends trying to dislodge bits of shrapnel that impaled them from the first attack, while holding their sides from the impact of him crashing against them. He winces at the state his friends are in, and is about to go and assist them, when he begins to register his own injuries. He knows he only has a few minutes, so continuing to wince, he goes to sit on a still surviving rock nearby and begins to massage his neck, which had received that savage last kick. "If I hadn't taken most of the energy from that kick by turning with it and jumping back.." he shudders to finish the thought.

The girls in the meantime look around and see the injured Tsukune trying to massage his neck. They turn to each other and see their own state. Wordlessly they reach the same conclusion at the same time. In painful unison they call, "T.. thanks for the demonstration. We'll be going now. Good night!" before making a hasty retreat for the exit. Or as hasty as they can hobble at any rate. On their way out they began to argue about whose stupid idea it had been to come in here with Ura in the first place.

Ura smirks with satisfaction as they leave, stands up, and goes to attend to Tsukune.

"I'm sorry Moka-san, I was really.."

"Shh.. you did well enough.", says Ura as she moves behind him. She places her hands on his neck and begins to gently probe it, to see if there's any real injury. Seeing only bruises, she begins to gently massage the neck.

"Not bad Tsukune. You still have issues hesitating but for moments at a time, you did fight like you were supposed to. That is why I'm here helping a stiff neck, and we're not headed for the emergency room.", mentions Ura in an uncaring tone that belied her tender touch.

He leans back into the massage sighing contently. "You did it on purpose, didn't you. To scare them off."

She replies by firmly squeezing with her hands eliciting a painful groan from him. "You would prefer I take a more direct approach?"

"No, that's not..", is the hesitant reply.

"Besides, this was more fun, and it even helped our training.", she adds while continuing to rub his neck and up his spine.

She slides her hands from his neck down to his back and leans forward, resting on his elbows. He groans with pleasure this time as her hands knead the bruised muscles.

"Thank you. Not just for this, but for training, and for taking it easier on them, and for..", says Tsukune sincerely, before getting cut off as Ura places a hand on his cheek.

She moves to sit opposite him and they just gaze at each other. He finally notices she has a small bruise on her cheek where his own blow landed. He wants to lean forward to take a better look, maybe caress the spot, but his body has other plans and sends a wave of pain through him. She notices where he's starting and smiles faintly.

Rubbing her bruise, she tells him with a smile, "Yes, good job. Because of this, you have earned a reward. Come here, lean your head on my lap."

_'How about the reward of enough is enough and you stop hurting him? Is this really necessary?'_, asks Omote as directly as she dares.

He does as he's bidden and gazes up at her, a bit stunned to know what to say. She begins to run her hands through his messy hair. He closes his eyes for a moment to savour the touch, and her fingers wander to his face and to slowly trace the contours of his features. They glide along the nose, across his cheeks, move on to his lips and back around the back of his head, to find his ear, before going back to his hair. He opens his eyes and just gazes at her lovingly, and is pleasantly surprised to see a warm gaze looking down on him.

As she runs his hands through his hair, she's thinking about what Omote said, and decides to simply ask him. "Tsukune, Omote thinks I should not put you through this anymore. So I'm going to ask you, what it is you want."

He furrows his brow into a mild frown, wondering what she means. But before he can ask, she continues.

"You said you wanted to be with me, with us, perhaps all you meant was that you as a boy wanted to just be with us for pleasure." She emphasizes her words by sliding her hands away down his neck, and under his shirt. Her touch is electrifying to him, and elicits a moan.

"If you only seek to be my lover, then perhaps you are strong enough. I don't expect you to protect me, nor do you have to fight at my side. I do like you. You were very attractive just now when we were fighting.", she purrs as she gives his sides a gentle squeeze. "Hm, it seems you like that idea..", she says with a soft voice, partially pleased with his response to her touch.

Tsukune's feels as if his body is both on fire, freezing, and flooded with electricity. Inner Moka thought he was attractive? Did she mention being her lover? And that touch.. was he dreaming again? He was having a hard time completely following what she was saying through all the stimulation. But as much as this was like a dream, it suddenly had a rude awakening.

"Of course, one day as a proper vampire, I will have to marry someone of my station. You will need to take a place as my servant and lover. In fact, if you ever meet father, that is how you will be introduced." She senses him tensing up, and continues to explain, "This will prevent him killing you on sight, since you will be of no consequence. Just someone to attend to me, and to spend time with me when my husband isn't around."

"It won't be as bad as it sounds, you would still have Omote when there is nobody around, no vampire would have interest in her because she's so weak. She will be very devoted to you. But when my husband is around, you will need to make yourself scarce, unless he commands you otherwise, which is a possibility. He may choose to have you watch a few times, to establish dominance. If you dare show any signs of jealousy, he will kill you."

She senses him tensing up, his body no longer reacting at all to her touch. Where before any slight movement elicited a delighted response, he was now frigid. "He likely won't be around much, and when we are together, I do promise to make it very memorable..", she offers, trying to improve the alternative.

He takes her hand in his and removes it from his chest, before sitting, and then standing up. He's staring at her as she also stands up, first in disbelief, and then in growing anger. "As if I would ever agree to something like that!", he finally exclaims angrily.

"What makes you think I would want to be even close to anyone who would look down on my beloved Moka-san, or that I would consider allowing another man.." he shakes his head angrily spitting out the words, trying to maintain his composure.

He walks up to her and firmly grabs her by the shoulders, before giving her a piercing gaze. "I would never allow that. I will definitely never agree to that.", he says in a firm but even voice. He knew he was challenging her, and he knew this would end up painfully for him, but concern for his safety seemed secondary right now. He expects her to attack him at any moment, or go into an angry rant, or likely both. He expects a lot of things, except this.

She begins to smile. Breaking his hold on her with ease she closes the distance between them, embracing him. "Good.", she whispers into his ear in a warm tone, as she hugs him. She was very happy with his response, and gave his ear a nibble to let him know. _'So there is some fire in there after all. Very good'._ Ura thinks to herself.

He shivers as she bites his ear. He's still somewhat confused, but his anger completely dissipates just like that, replaced by a feeling of warmth in his chest. He slowly hugs her back, and they remain like that for a time, leaning into each other, before leaving for the night.

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A/N: Yeah so, no big reveal this time.. sorry! Ack, err.. those are nice pitchforks you have there.. very fashionable.. oh look, there's Moka in a bathing suit!

::runs::


	7. Chapter 7: Promises & Instincts

A/N: Thanks everyone for your very kind reviews and PMs. I hope you continue enjoying the story, I love hearing from you, so if you enjoy the story, and have time, please leave a comment :)

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The rest of the night went off without incident, but by morning Tsukune was going over the events of the previous night. It had been a crazy day, and the reality of what had happened was beginning to sink in. Inner Moka had offered him the chance to become her lover. Furthermore, she had mentioned she had been attracted to him, and her hands, the touch of her hands had been.. electrifying. He missed her.

Of course, the downside had been the other part of the offer, the price to pay so to speak, which he had found very upsetting.

The woman he's crazy about having said such things to him had a profound effect: elation that she likes him and considers him attractive, sadness that she had made the offer in the first place, and just to throw more chaos into his confused emotions, he suspected it could all have been a test, specially considering her reaction when he had challenged her. So was he then supposed to feel sad that maybe she didn't find him attractive after all, but happy because the upsetting offer hadn't been genuine? So confusing.

Still, regardless of his troubling doubts which were laced with bouts of excitement, he was in good spirits. Pushing the doubts aside, inner Moka had shown genuine concern for him. Her tender touch of his neck and back had been sublime. She had also embraced him for the first time, and the time they had spent in that embrace.. all that was precious and more important to him than anything else.

XXX

Tsukune finds himself heading to school with a content look on his face. He runs into Moka who greets him warmly, but they only hug briefly, expecting their friends to show up at any moment, or to be observing them from a distance.

"How is your neck Tsukune?", asks Moka with concern.

"Ah, it's much better Moka-san, it still hurts a little. I'm just happy I managed to throw myself back and turn with the kick to take out most of it's power, or else I could have been seriously hurt. I guess I still have a long way to go..", he replies, a bit embarrassed.

To his surprise the one that looks really embarrassed is Moka. She gazes down to the ground and offers quietly, "I'm so sorry you got hurt. But after I talked to Ura-chan last night,"

_'Whined, more like it..'_, interjects Ura.

Omote breathes in and ignores her inner self before she finishes, "..she told me she would not have kicked you like that if you had not anticipated the attack and had already begun countering. She was actually proud of how you fought."

Outer Moka still feels ashamed that it was her foot that had injured him, and doesn't know how he'll react to her apology. She finally takes a peek to see Tsukune's reaction, and she's surprised to see him beaming at her.

"Thank you Moka-san, please tell inner Moka-san that means a lot to me.", he says with happiness.

They walk to school in content silence, not even realizing they're holding hands while sharing a slight blush, wondering when their friends would catch up.

XXX

Moka and Tsukune begin to worry, wondering where their friends were, when they see them walk into the classroom. They move with measured steps, as if they were carrying a glass of water they didn't want to spill. They give Tsukune a very warm smile and greeting, but barely even acknowledge Moka before turning to look the other way.

Once he had a chance to get a closer look, Tsukune noticed the bruises on their exposed skin, and he finally realized that they must be in pain, which would explain why they were walking so slowly and only caught up to them just now. _'What on earth happened? Did they get attacked? __But why didn't they say anything? __Wait, it couldn't have been last night, they didn't get hit directly by any of it..'_, he argues with himself. He was about to voice his question when it suddenly dawns on him. This **was** the result of getting barely hit by those attacks from inner Moka.

He swallows hard. Only now does he fully understand how dangerous Ura's attacks had been, if a couple of pure Ayashi got hurt like that just from the aftershock and a little shove.

During lunch, the girls mention a headache from studying too much, and excuse themselves to go to the infirmary for pain medicine. This works out well for Tsukune, who has errands of his own, and was looking for an excuse to leave. He had namely been hesitant to leave his injured friends behind. After Moka assures him she will be fine by herself, since the cafeteria was very safe, he finally takes off.

They all return at roughly the same time, towards the end of the lunch period. Tsukune thinks he can make out a bandage under Kurumu's blouse, but the girls don't say anything. They are moving much more naturally now, and seem intent on not mentioning anything further, so Tsukune remains quiet, thinking things were improving on their own.

He fails to realize that the girls never even look at Moka once the entire time, and how Moka lowers her own head and becomes quiet once she notices.

XXX

After school, the four girls see Tsukune approach them. He smiles at them all, and after exchanging greetings, he turns towards Omote and asks, "Moka-san, I need to discuss some things with inner Moka-san, do you mind?"

All the girls look at him a bit puzzled, including Moka, but she nods her assent. He excuses himself and heads with Moka deeper into the forest, leaving the rest of the girls uncertain, but also quite unwilling to follow them; the lesson about interfering with inner Moka was still fresh on more than their memories.

For his part Tsukune was having a hard time not jumping for joy and instead just keeping his emotions well hidden. After he had gone a good bit away from the school and reached a clearing of sorts, he turns to Moka suddenly and pulls her tightly into his embrace, catching her by surprise. He delights in finally having her in his arms again. Perhaps it hadn't been that long, but it had felt like forever.

Recovering from her surprise, she wraps her own arms around him and just gazes at him, basking in his closeness. Moving her head to lean it on his shoulder, she sniffles, "I really missed you.", full of pent-up emotion.

He holds her close, one hand wrapped around her waist, the other running through her hair. "I missed you too.", he replies in a soft caring voice. With one arm behind her back he holds her, while he uses the other hand to gently pet her, running it through her lovely pink hair.

With his closeness, and his touch, outer Moka's sniffles easily melt away to her usual happy self, and she pulls a little away to turn her head and reward him with a bright smile. She sees his own smile grow and hugs him closer, going back to rest her head on his shoulder. She doesn't realize it, but she begins to hum a little.

_'If that was just a clever ruse to get away from them, that is fine. But you are running out of time, the others aren't stupid, they should be able to tell my Youki isn't released, even from this distance.'_, cautions inner Moka in a neutral voice.

After asking Tsukune, it turned out he really did need to speak to inner Moka. After another minute of just holding each other, Omote gives him a quick but meaningful kiss on the lips, before taking his hand to her Rosary and pulling it off.

The area immediately floods with oppressive Youki as the inner vampire awakens. Stretching languidly, Ura turns to stare at Tsukune, who is always fascinated when she transforms, and perhaps a little scared.

"Hello, Moka-san, did you sleep well?", he offers a bit nervously, quite probably because of her staring.

"Hello again Tsukune.", offers inner Moka in a voice perhaps a hint softer than her usual. Not for the first time she realizes she enjoys when he's a little scared, enjoys having such a profound effect on him. As if to prove the point to herself, she gives him a small smile, and watches with satisfaction as his entire face lights up.

"I have a surprise for you!", he exclaims happily, as he approaches her, beaming.

"Oh?" She does not bother to hide her curiosity, but does temper her reply a bit.

Full of excitement, he grabs into his bag and pulls out a whip. "Look!", he exclaims triumphantly.

Inner Moka's eyes open wide in surprise as she stares at it, "Belmont! The old man let you have it?", she asks incredulously, even considering the possibility Tsukune might have 'borrowed' it without permission.

"He did! I went to see him, and he asked how my training was doing. I told him, and described our last battle, and he seemed pleased. I then used that chance to ask for the whip for additional training of my vampire senses, and he agreed.", Tsukune explains proudly.

"There is no way he just gave it to you like that. He is up to something.", answers Ura with a pensive face.

"Well, now that you mention it, he did say I would have to do something for him in the future.", he comments, furrowing his brow.

"And you just agreed to that, without knowing what?!", asks Ura in disbelief.

He blushes and nods replying in a small voice, "I just really wanted the whip so we could.. you know.."

She groans. She couldn't be really mad at him because she also was looking forward to spending time out of the training grounds awake, and with him. However, unlike Tsukune she could see that all of this was no coincidence, and it disturbed her that Tsukune was essentially a piece in the old man's chessboard. She didn't complete the thought, acknowledging herself as part of the board to avoid becoming furious.

Taking a deep breath, she instead says, keeping her voice even, "Tsukune, I am glad you have the whip. But you need to be careful. What you do also affects me, even more if we are ever in a relationship. You sometimes have to give to get what you want, but you always make sure you know what you're getting into, and try to negotiate from a position of power."

He looks crestfallen as he walks to sit nearby, gazing down. He had been so happy getting the whip he really hadn't given it any thought to what the chairman could want in return. He could have asked for his head in return and he might have not heard him.

Feeling a bit sorry that she had dampened his enthusiasm, she walks to sit next to him, and puts an arm around his shoulder, which makes him look up at her in surprise.

"What's done is done, I'll just have to teach you about this too sometime. And I did mean it when I said I was happy you have the whip. Just be careful from now on, OK?", she says, giving him a small smile and feeling satisfied when she sees it work wonders again.

He leans against her, feeling cheerful again, and just smiles, enjoying the feeling of her arm around him. Sitting like this, he realizes there are two things he really wants to ask her. Well, there is one big thing he really wants to ask her, and one small thing he's curious about. His nerve fails him and so he decides to ask, "Moka-san, there is something I wanted to ask you. Did you hear when I told everyone about my craving for blood?"

She raises an eyebrow and replies nonchalantly, "Yes, it is only natural. Your seal was weakened when some of the chains broke, and you have been taping into your vampire instincts. It was only a matter of time before this one would also manifest itself."

"No, that's not it, I mean, yes, thank you, I had assumed as much, but it is good to know. But what I wanted to ask is, why did Outer Moka-san become so embarrassed when I said that? I've been meaning to ask her, but we have had very little time to ourselves as of late..", he tries to explain.

___'What?! Noooo! Just make something up!'_, begs outer Moka from inside the Rosario.

Inner Moka tries to hide her growing delight. This was a question she would enjoy answering.

XXX

The three girls remained sitting for a while, while Tsukune and Moka ran off into the forest. They didn't question why they needed so much distance to talk privately, because they really were not in the mood to question it. There were plenty of easily available reasons. He could be taking her away for their own comfort, because Ura's aura was oppressive. Or for their own safety, in case she was still upset about last night.

Eventually however, after they hadn't sensed so much as a candlelight's worth of an energy spike, they began to wonder.

"Maybe we should go check up on them, see if there is a problem?", ventured Kurumu, while starting to walk slowly in the general direction that Tsukune and Moka had taken.

Just at that moment, they feel the familiar jolt in Youki that emanates from inner Moka being released. Even this far away, it is impossible to miss.

"Great idea. Good luck with that.", replies Mizore with a calm voice, hiding her amusement at picturing how the succubus would be getting wing-free flying lessons if she did go.

Catching on, Yukari pats Kurumu on the back. "We'll miss your cookies!", she offers full of merry amusement.

Kurumu goes pale even as she immediately backtracks. "Damn you guys, as if I'm going to go get killed like that! I still can't believe Tsukune does that on purpose when his life isn't in danger, and even worse he goes with her every night knowing he has to fight her!", she finishes with a shiver.

The two other girls nod their silent assent.

"It really was quite unnerving seeing them like that last night.", agrees Mizore.

"Tsukune really looked and felt like a vampire about to attack, desu! They were exactly the same! Scary!", comments Yukari in an excited tone.

"What?! No! He's not a vampire! Tsukune is nothing like her! He's kind and caring and loving! He's nothing like that!", Kurumu retorts in an angry tirade, laced with apprehension, clearly upset with the idea he could resemble inner Moka in any way.

Yukari defends her position, trying to prove she's right, "Yes, he was very loving the way he growled at her and attacked. Did you see the same fight I did, or did your boobs get in the way!"

Mizore walks up to Kurumu and places a hand on her shoulders to placate the succubus. "He may have looked like a vampire, but deep down we know he's our Tsukune." She even resisted the temptation to call him 'her' Tsukune.

This seems to calm the succubus, just in time as a new explosion of Youki comes from Moka and Tsukune's direction. It really did feel like inner Moka's aura again, except weaker, but no less threatening.

All three friends look in that direction, and then at each other, wondering what had happened.

"Maybe they were attacked?", asks Yukari.

"I don't sense any other Youki", offers Mizore.

"Let's send Yukari to find out. She can go as a small offering of peace.", suggests Kurumu, before adding. "If we add a stylish bow and perhaps some seasoning, Ura-Moka might accept it, even if it **is** a bit small. But the flatness shouldn't affect the taste..", she finishes with a wide grin.

Yukari looks pissed as she catches on to the double meaning even before Kurumu explains it, and just sends a flying pan soaring at the succubus' head, knocking her down as she finishes her little joke.

"I am sure they are fine.", speaks Mizore more to herself, but it does help end the argument.

XXX

Inner Moka seems to be deep in thought. In a way, she was, for she had turned her gaze inwardly to relish on Omote's begging, savouring her chance to get even for all the previous teasing.

_'I think I really should tell him'_, begins Ura neutrally.

_'No, please, I'll die of embarrassment, I'll do anything!'_

___'Anything? You people say that way too easily..'_, replies inner Moka with an amused tone.

___'What if I asked you to invite Tsukune after training back to our dorm room, prepare him a bath, and wash his back. He's usually very stiff after a fight, I doubt he can do more than soak himself in his shower when he's alone.'_, asks Ura with a growing smile.

Omote is now blushing from head to toe, even her ears are blushing, just from picturing Tsukune in her bathtub and her scrubbing his back. This was even worse than her previous embarrassment!

Ura is loving this, she is thoroughly enjoying seeing Omote's reactions. But she wants more. ___'Do you promise to never tease me again?'_, she asks without so much as a grin.

___'Yes! I promise! Now just ____don't tell him and ____go make something up!'_, exclaims Omote, starting to feel relieved that her ordeal was over.

Inner Moka turned her perception back to reality and faced Tsukune. "Tsukune. Omote does not wish me to answer that question right now, because the wind is blowing. It is a vampire thing.", says Ura with a shrug, while doing her best to imitate Omote's disinterested tone and manner when she had said a similar line not too long ago.

Sensing the growing apprehension coming from inside her Rosario, she grins evilly as she adds, "But I'm sure she would love to explain it to you herself as soon as I'm sealed!"

___'Noooooo! Ah! I'm never coming out of here, I'm staying sealed forever!'_, wails outer Moka in despair.

Ura begins to laugh even as she forces a thought through the Rosary's wailing. ___'I mentioned you would pay for that one, didn't I. And this will teach you to circumvent your promises by trying to be clever!'_, she admonishes with savage delight.

_'____If you put that Rosario back on, I'm instantly grabbing the whip! I am not coming out!'_, wails Omote.

_'You could do that.. or you could promise to never do it again for real, and agree to help me train Tsukune instead of just complaining about it. There is an idea I had since I saw how well our fight worked last night, but it requires your help, and it is even a bit dangerous for you..'_, suggests Ura in a deceptively calm voice.

_'In return, I'll fix this so he accepts it as something normal.'_, offers Ura in an earnest tone. This was too easy.

___'You can do that?'_ asks Omote incredulously.

Ura remains silent, so Omote just adds, ___'If you do that, I apologize for everything, and promise to never do it again, and do anything you want including helping you with Tsukune's training!'_

___'I'll hold you to that.'_, is the only thing that Ura replies, leaving Omote a bit more hopeful.

XXX

"Very well, it seems that she wants me to explain it after all", says Moka with a satisfied smirk while glancing at her Rosario.

"Tell me Tsukune, the other me only drinks your blood when she's hungry?", asks Moka in a neutral voice.

"Well, no, she also seems to drink it..", begins Tsukune.

"- when she's excited.", finishes inner Moka for him. She can literally see the gears begin to turn in his head, but too slowly for her taste, so she decides to help them along. With a barely perceptible smile, she adds, "The short easy answer, is that drinking blood can be an expression of desire."

Tsukune suddenly blushes and gawks at her, stammering incoherently.

Not surprisingly, she senses Omote being similarly eloquent.

Moka chuckles to herself, idly wondering when her other self's blush will finally manage to match her hair's colour. "Our blood is the most precious thing we vampires possess. Do you understand the implications?"

He only stares back, still too abashed to really say anything, and barely beginning to process any ramifications.

Making a point to sigh, inner Moka shakes her head before taking a deep breath. She begins to explain, "In a vampire relationship, one vampire may offer his or her blood to their mate, to prove their love, to 'entice' the other mate, or both."

"In a relationship in which both vampires are equally powerful, in general nobody will drink each other's blood unless they're deeply in love, in which case they'll become blood mates. It is possible for only one of them to offer their blood, if he or she's deeply in love with the other vampire and/or is trying to entice the other more reluctant partner, but in general their pride will prevent it."

"When one is a weaker vampire than the other, then the weaker vampire often offers his or her blood to the dominant one.", she finishes, pausing to see if he seems to be following along.

Tsukune looks at her, his blush still very much alive on his skin, but she can see him thinking, before he asks, "So is it pride then, that prevents a vampire from sharing their blood?"

Inner Moka smiles. "That's a good question, and no. It is also instinct. The weaker vampire will instinctively yield to the stronger one's desires, the stronger one will resist the weaker one. It is a very powerful instinct actually."

Moka suddenly gets an idea and she tries to hide an evil grin. After glancing at the Rosario, she asks, "Would you like me to show you?"

Tsukune nods automatically, since he _is_ curious, but when he sees Moka begin to grin slowly, showing her fangs, he begins to squirm. He wonders if he had not just become the canary that walked into the proverbial cat's welcoming fangs.

XXX

Ura walks up to a nearby tree and after testing that it's solid, she nods her approval. "OK, this should work." Facing the tree, she firmly grabs on to it. Turning her head over her shoulders she sees Tsukune staring at her, blushing. Biting down her own blush, she instead asks him, "Do you like me Tsukune?"

He nearly chokes. The question, and the expression that was visible on her face for just a second, make him certain. He is indeed the canary. Nonetheless, once he actually remembers to reply, he answers earnestly, "I think you're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen."

She really likes his answer, but replies with a neutral tone, "Such an honest answer. But that is not what I asked, Tsukune." She turns to look directly at his confused face with an amused look. "I asked if you desire me..", she says in a seductive tone.

The effect is as immediate as it is predictable. Tsukune suddenly blushes furiously from head to toe. Inner Moka can't help but chuckle to herself, he was so similar to Omote at times, and just as entertaining to play with. To add a bit of fuel to the fire, she adds in a soft inviting voice, "I like _you_ Tsukune. And last night when you unleashed your vampire blood like that.. I liked it_ a lot_.."

Tsukune is trying to catch his breath, but her voice easily robs him of the attempt. _'So she does really like me? And she likes me even more if..'_, he pauses and fights hard to stop the blood pumping fiercely against his head from overwhelming him. To his confused mind it just feels like something is constricting his chest and making it very hard to breathe, and very hard to think straight for that matter.

Not being able to completely form a coherent plan or really a series of thoughts, he does latch unto one of the stronger ones, namely that she likes him even more in his vampire form. He releases his Youki and he nearly screams in delight when it is unleashed, finally being able to breathe. Regaining the ability to form coherent thoughts is a nice bonus too.

"Very good..", mentions Ura, who had been waiting to see if he released his energy of his own volition, or whether she would have to instruct him to do it. She turns to gaze at him and delights in his red eyes, his hair turning partially silver, and his more serene, more mature look.

She completely ignores the feeling of deep embarrassment and babbling coming from within her Rosario. Something about whether one could perhaps hang drapes in there to make it cozy or some such nonsense.

"Now Tsukune, just like you did last night, focus on your blood's instincts. Do you really desire me? Focus on that.. yes, like that, very good. I can feel your Youki begin to change. Come, lean your head on my shoulders.", instructs Ura.

His Youki was already beginning to spiral around him, but after that bit of instruction, it begins to swirl with force even as he closes the distance between them.

She finally lets her own desire run free and her Youki almost howls as it picks up speed swirling around her violently. She turns to stare at Tsukune as he's beginning to wrap his arms around her, but she stops him. Her look right now is predatory in nature, and while it scares him a bit, it also excites him. Holding firmly to his hands she moves them away from her body and unto her hips. Biting her lip, she slides them to rest on top of her skirt and hips before turning towards the tree end holding unto the branches as if her life depended on it.

As Tsukune's desire grows with his body pressed against his beloved Moka, her smell and the brief touching of her hips exciting his senses, his own Youki begins to flare ever more violently. As his thoughts wander to appreciate her perfect figure, her full breasts, her shapely legs, her skirt fluttering in her own Youki, barely hiding one of the main sources of his desire, he doesn't even notice he bares his fangs and growls.

She fights to stop the instinct to push him away from her, even as she bares her own fangs and growls in response. She feels too vulnerable in this position, she would feel far more comfortable straddling _him_. Her Youki was reacting to his, and was about to completely overwhelm his own when she tries to reign it in, with moderate success. At roughly the same time she squeezes the tree to suppress her impulses, shattering the strong branches under her hands.

Forcing her voice to sound calm, she urges him, "Try to drink my blood, Tsukune.", while her hands move to grab unto the trunk. After waiting a few moments, she lets her Youki loose and it screeches as it is freed once again.

Tsukune's desire is growing to the point where he's once again having trouble thinking straight. There was all of her. For him, readily available. He wanted to take her blood, to take _her._ Make her his. But suddenly he felt it, like a strong buffeting wind, a deep sense of apprehension. Moka's now free Youki completely overwhelmed his, and every instinct in his body began to tell him to back off, even as he heard a low growl coming from her. He still tries to bite to follow her instructions but suddenly gets surprised by a strong jolt.

At the same time, the tree Moka is holding is smashed into splinters between her hands, and she turns to see Tsukune staggering one step backwards in surprise. She is breathing heavily, staring at him with both desire and challenge in her eyes, and he can't help but lower his gaze.

Tsukune would have passed out from embarrassment a long time ago if that emotion had not been completely overwhelmed by other, more primal emotions. Even now, all he can think about is how much he loves her, no, how much he desires her. But even his addled mind now knows he can't just take her. There are warning bells all over his being. His instinct provides him with a solution. He begins to slowly undo his shirt, he's going to offer her the one thing that he has that's most precious.

She looks at him with a pleased and hungry expression. Too pleased, too hungry. Laboured breathing notwithstanding, she commands him in a firm voice, "Tsukune, stop!" It isn't without regret that she forces herself to rein in her desire, and while she refuses to acknowledge that she would have difficulty in controlling her own emotions, she can't deny it takes her time to do so.

Her voice makes him pause, and his mind tries to desperately understand what she said. As her own Youki begins to calm down, he begins to regain his senses. He sees Moka trying to catch her breath, he sees his shirt half open, the memories of what she had said begin to make sense, and suddenly all the repressed embarrassment makes a comeback with a vengeance, replacing all his questions such as _'Why?'_. He quickly turns to look away from her even as his body trembles slightly. There are many other emotions pushing against him, vying for dominance, but for now he just wants the earth to swallow him whole.

Inner Moka walks up to him and slowly embraces him from behind, resting her head against him. "That felt stronger than I expected.", she ventures in a neutral voice, and watches him only nod. She can't tell how hard he's struggling to not show how he feels or to appear weak in front of her, but she can tell how he tenses his muscles to stop his own shivering.

She's not an expert in dealing with emotions, but she can tell he's troubled. She first tries to explain, "You did what I asked you to do, and learned first hand how your instincts react." Pausing a moment, she adds in a softer tone, "I'm glad to see you like me too."

Her words have a noticeable effect and he nods again, before replying, "Thank you Moka-san.", struggling to keep his voice even.

As she becomes aware of some murmuring from within the Rosario, she rolls her eyes at it before she replies with annoyance, "No Omote, you can't make a vase of flowers or curtains appear no matter how much you concentrate. You either sleep, look to the outside world, or if I'm visiting, you can become aware of our own bodies floating in a grey mist, that is it."

She senses Tsukune perk up and she decides to try to change tactics. "Omote is quite embarrassed and wants to stay to live in the Rosario forever.", she says, waiting for his concerned reaction which is quite immediate.

"She will need your help to understand that it is quite natural and that there is nothing wrong with how she feels because she drank your blood. You should now understand those feelings very intimately."

Tsukune swallows and nods, avoiding her direct gaze. "I will help her, Moka-san."

Turning to look inward, Ura says, _'__OK, time to go.__'_ When she just saw her other self stubbornly shake her head, she adds, _'__Look, just give it __a minute__. If after __that __you want to come back in, you can. We have the whip after all, like you mentioned. But I'd rather you cooked our dinner.__'_

XXX

Tsukune moved to catch Outer Moka as she fell when Ura put her Rosario back on. He caught her bridal style in his arms and sat down with her, to wait until she recovered. He noticed when she woke up because she immediately shut her eyes firmly closed and buried her face into his chest, as her blush grew.

He began patting her head gently, playing with her hair with one hand. "I really would miss you if you stayed inside the Rosario, you know.", he offers tenderly, while continuing his caress.

"I have a secret to tell you, Moka-san.", he tries in a soft voice. That makes her perk up enough to turn away from his chest and gaze up with a questioning look, but not high enough that she could meet his gaze.

Moving to gently kiss the top of her head, Tsukune continues, "I do. I really like it when Moka-san drinks my blood."

Omote starts blushing again and half mutters something incomprehensible. She is about to bury her face in his chest again, when she feels his hand caress her cheek, gently stopping her from turning away.

"Please look at me?", he finally asks, before nudging her chin up until their gazes meet.

She wraps her arms around his neck, and he leans downward, before gently brushing his lips against hers. He tentatively probes the taste of her lips by nibbling with the tip of his own lips, first her upper and then her lower lip, until she finally returns the kiss.

The tentative kiss begins to grow into a slow, tantalizing dance of the lips. Their tongues touch each other, tentatively probing, gently caressing, slowly exploring, retreating and starting again, sharing each other's mouths even as a groan and a moan urge them to continue. The kiss lasts a while until they break for breath, both with a healthy blush, but continuing to gaze at each other lovingly.

Smiling at her, he asks her, "Do you want to drink a little?"

He's surprised when she shakes her head and blushes more. At his questioning glance she casts her gaze downward and explains what she only muttered before. "I don't drink your blood like Ura-chan does. You probably like it better when she does it.", she finally musters the nerve to say.

"You don't have to do anything like inner Moka-san. I meant when I said I love it when you drink my blood, because it is _you_ drinking it.", Tsukune replies tenderly.

He easily exposes his neck with one hand, taking advantage of his open shirt, before guiding her to it. She shakes her head against his neck, stubbornly pressing her lips together. Grinning, he tickles her, and she opens her mouth laughing. After that, he just shifts his shoulder up and makes it meet her cute little fangs, piercing his own skin.

Outer Moka seems like she's about to pout but the smell and the taste on her lips are too much for the poor flustered vampire to resist, and so she begins to drink even as she blushes further. Omote stops for a moment to give the spot a gentle kiss before she resumes. When she senses a slight shiver from her kiss, she giggles and it helps ease her bashfulness.

When she stops and looks up to him, he's smiling at her warmly, caressing her face. His eyes, shinning with happiness get clouded for a moment, but then shine even brighter, "I'm so glad you accepted my blood. I love you, my precious Moka-san."

Something in that statement puzzles her a bit, but it's overshadowed as her heart aches with joy when she hears his declaration of love.

_'If you two __little doves __are done fluttering around each other, the others will likely come any minute, now that my Youki isn't scaring them off.'_, warns Ura in a neutral, almost disinterested tone. If she wanted them to stop for other reasons, she certainly didn't give it away in her tone.

"We should go, the others will be..", begins Omote, as she starts to try to untangle herself from Tsukune.

"Stay right there. I've got this.", interrupts Tsukune with confidence as he stands up with her in his arms, continuing to carry her bridal style.

"You look tired, and look like you could use a nap before the training later on.", he adds in a softer tone.

She nods in agreement and nuzzles against him, closing her eyes before she says in a soft, warm voice. "I love you Tsukune."

He just kisses her forehead as he begins to walk to where they left their friends waiting.

XXX

The girls were getting a bit uneasy by now, wondering what had happened. The veritable storm of Youki had subsided, replaced by Ura's regular oppressive aura, and finally, nothing. They were hesitant to go take a look, but as minutes passed by, their anxiety began to win over their reluctance.

In silent agreement, the girls turned to look at each other, even as their faces showed their determination. They stood up and began to walk towards where Tsukune and Moka had headed, when in the distance they made out the two of them coming back to meet them.

They ran up to them, but their yelled greeting died in their throats when they saw Tsukune carrying Moka in his arms as he approached them. Taking in the picture of Moka nuzzled against Tsukune as he walked in serenely towards them, they forgot to even breathe. They were struggling between yelling a demand asking what was going on, concern that something in fact did happen, and the dark foreboding feeling that was constricting their chests and throats.

Tsukune saw the girls and called out a greeting, keeping his voice friendly. He was inwardly ready to stop any flying ice daggers or other attacks, but he thought he knew how to handle this.

Moka for her part kept her eyes closed and decided to trust Tsukune.

"I need to take Moka-san to her dorm, she's very tired.", begins Tsukune trying to sound perfectly calm.

Mizore decides to ask first in her neutral voice, "What happened?"

"Oh nothing, Moka-san was just teaching me about vampire instincts. But it tired out outer Moka-san."

"I'm not surprised, the intensity of that Youki, well, storm really, was very scary, desu!", exclaims Yukari.

"And you, how are _you_ doing Tsukune? Between last night and today, you can't be alright, if Moka is like this.", asks Kurumu, finally getting over the sight of Moka in his arms.

"How are your injuries, Tsukune?", ask the three girls at almost the same time.

"Oh, I injured my neck last night, but it is better now.", he replies a bit abashed. He decides to not mention how it had gotten better.

"I can't believe you go through that every night. That's insane. You really should stop. Maybe we could talk to the chairman and..", blurts out Kurumu, unable to contain herself any longer.

"We feel you don't need to become stronger Tsukune, and we're just concerned about you..", complements Mizore.

"Between one Moka draining your blood, and the other spilling it all over the place, they're going to kill you!", they all exclaim at more or less the same time.

_'Wow, they really have been thinking about this a while, haven't they.'_, thinks Tsukune to himself. He feels Moka tense up and hears a suppressed sniffle. He responds by tightening his grip on her momentarily, to get her attention.

He speaks with conviction, while taking turns looking straight ahead into the distance and turning his head down to look at Moka, "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. And that won't be necessary. I will one day be strong enough to help Moka-san in a fight, and that is my precious goal." He then turns to look at the girls and adds with a sad undertone, "But I'm sorry you girls got hurt last night."

Kurumu and Yukari reply way too quickly, "Hurt? No, no, not at all! Just some minor bruises when we tripped, but we're not hurt!", while Mizore rolls her eyes. _'__All that rehearsing and that is how they..__'_, she sighs, not bothering to finish the thought.

Giving Moka another warm squeeze, he adds, "I am very grateful to Moka-san for training me, and I would be very sad if she stopped."

Outer Moka tightens her hold on Tsukune, and even trembles a little bit when she hears his words. She also feels warmth coming from her otherwise silent Rosario. She just barely resists the urge to pull herself up to him and kiss him again. It really moved her to realize how much he was willing to do just to be with her. With them. And that he didn't even hold it against her, or her inner self, but was grateful for it was more than she hoped for.

The girls look sullen after that, in their own ways. Kurumu easily displays her anger and annoyance, Yukari looks pensive, and Mizore narrows her eyes ever so slightly. It is also not helping that all this time, as they're walking towards the dorms, Moka has remained nuzzled against Tsukune's chest, in his arms no less. Mizore and Kurumu are the most annoyed by this, but even Yukari is jealous.

Tsukune manages to catch the occasional death glares that they shoot at Moka, so he decides to mollify them. Besides, he misses spending time with his friends, and who knows what will happen once they are told about his choice. With this in mind, he offers again in a casual tone, "Girls, after we leave Moka-san to sleep, I don't have anything to do until the evening when I train. Would you like to spend the time together?"

That has a profound effect, and suddenly the girls even forget that they're upset with Moka and quickly smile and nod their ascent.

"Well, just help me put her to bed, and then we can hang out. We can just study and do our homework, or since tomorrow is Saturday, you girls can choose what we do, but no fighting please.", continues Tsukune in his casual tone. He begins to wonder if he's getting better at dealing with them when he sees them agree that quickly, and begin discussing quietly amongst themselves as to what they want to do.

Moka is a bit concerned by what she hears but she's still feeling warm in her chest from being carried by Tsukune, and from his kind words. She's feeling completely protected and loved, and her only regret is that one day they're bound to reach the dorms. Otherwise she would likely just stay like that forever.

Once they reach the dorms Tsukune walks towards her dorm with determination, eliciting more than one curios stare from the other students in the building, when they see him carrying the pink-haired beauty in his arms followed by the three other girls. He was going to ask Yukari to get Moka's dorm key from her pocket, but thinking better of it, he asks Mizore instead. Once inside the room, he walks up to the bed and gently sets Moka down.

Inner Moka considers protesting that Omote should not be so lazy, since she could have walked all the way just fine, and to just get up and change to not ruffle her uniform, but the feeling of warmth permeating her outer self when she gets tucked in by Tsukune is very comforting, so she decides to just stay silent and enjoy it, this time.

The girls didn't challenge even when they saw Tsukune tucking in Moka with so much care. While they did feel a pang of jealousy, they were instead focused on the time he was about to spend with them, _sans Moka_. That prospect had made cooperating instead of fighting each other a lot more palatable.

Once Tsukune closes and locks the door to Moka's dorm room, he slides the key underneath the door and turns to face the girls, who look at him expectantly. "Well, have you girls decided what we should do?"

They reply as one, "Yes. We want to visit your dorm room!"

.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this, and I apologize if it's a bit too long, but I had serious issues with this chapter. One version went on a dark and broody tangent I didn't like (blame it on something I read that upset me), then another went on an ..interesting tangent (cold shower, cough), another I actually liked, but not for this story, but I was able to take about half from that one at least. In the end, over 14,000 words were mercilessly killed in the making of this chapter =)

Speaking of length, I just couldn't cut any scenes without (imho) affecting the flow negatively, and I couldn't end it sooner without getting a weak ending for the chapter and a weak start for the next one. So I do apologize if it is too long for someone's taste.

However, in the end I think I like how it turned out, and I hope you also enjoy it.

Comments appreciated!


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